SSENSE was worth $4B — then a tariff change turned 59% of its sales into a liability

SSENSE was founded in Montreal in 2003 by the Atallah brothers and grew into one of the world's most influential luxury ecommerce platforms. In 2021, Sequoia Capital invested at a $4 billion valuation. The company stocked over 500 luxury brands and shipped globally — but 59% of its sales went to the United States.

The trade policy shift of 2025 was catastrophic for that model. The US ended the de minimis exemption that had allowed duty-free shipments under $800, and imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian imports. SSENSE's US sales had already fallen 28% in 2024. The tariff change turned its largest market from a revenue source into a cost centre overnight. Liabilities reached $517 million against $420 million in assets.

In August 2025 SSENSE filed for protection under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the Canadian equivalent of Chapter 11. Creditors pushed for a forced sale, but the Atallah family won the bidding process and retained ownership. A company valued at $4 billion four years earlier was restructuring to survive — not because it had lost its customers, but because the border its business model depended on had changed the rules.