The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Strategic decision · 2010–2026
Ternua Group owned four Basque outdoor brands — a textile crisis sank it with €16M debt
Basque outdoor group Ternua owned four brands — it filed insolvency with €16M debt after the global textile crisis killed its post-COVID boom.
Ternua Group · Mondragón Corporation · 2025-06-13
What happened
Ternua Group was a Basque textile group built around four outdoor and sportswear brands: Ternua (mountain apparel), Astore (sportswear), Lorpen (technical socks), and Loreak Mendian (urban fashion). Headquartered in Arrasate (Mondragón), Gipuzkoa, it ran 28 directly managed stores and a production plant in Etxalar, employing 180 people.
The outdoor market boomed during COVID as people fled cities for the mountains. Ternua expanded aggressively, acquiring and integrating brands and taking on debt. From the second half of 2022, outdoor consumption dropped sharply and never recovered. The group's FY2023 revenue was €29.2 million with a negative result and €16 million in debt. Shareholders had invested €20 million since 2010.
On June 13, 2025, Ternua filed for voluntary insolvency before the Mercantile Court No. 2 of Donostia. The group was split into four productive units. By January 2026, Ternua was bought by Mondragón Group's Dikar for €1.5 million, Lorpen by its workers for €400,000, and Loreak Mendian by its founders for €800,000. About 100 of 180 jobs were saved.
Why it happened
- Ternua grew on the COVID outdoor bubble and expanded aggressively with debt — when the market turned in 2022, the group had no buffer and could not service its obligations
- Shareholders pumped €20M into the company, but debt from integrating Loreak Mendian and covering pandemic stock was a burden the shrinking market could not support
- Ternua's crown jewel was sold to Mondragón for just €1.5M — a fraction of the shareholders' investment — while Lorpen went to workers for €400K and Loreak Mendian to founders for €800K
The lesson
A market boom is not a strategy. Ternua grew on the COVID outdoor bubble, took on debt, and had no plan for when the trail went cold.
Sources
- naiz — Ternua presents insolvency with €16M debt
- naiz — Ternua's brands secure continuity, 100 jobs saved
- Orain — Ternua Group presents voluntary insolvency
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