Thakoon Puts Business On Hold

Thakoon Panichgul has revealed that his eponymous fashion label is being put on hold while he and his investors strategise "the next evolution of Thakoon".

The reason behind the decision is said to have been taken by Bright Fame Fashion - headed up by Vivian Chou, daughter of Hong Kong tycoon Silas Chou - which acquired a controlling stake in the house in 2015 and quickly embarked on adopting the see-now, buy-now model. Two years down the line, however, and a spokesperson for the brand has revealed that it has "recognised that the business model is ahead of the current retail environment. Therefore, we are taking a pause and an eventual restructure."

“I still believe in Thakoon’s tremendous design talent and the brand as well as the strong management team behind this project," said Silas Chou yesterday, reports WWD.

The reasoning behind the announcement will come as warning sign to other small businesses which have gone down the see-now, buy-now route and also to houses which have reserved judgement on the model until they see how it pans out for their peers. While larger houses which own their production and retail infrastructure are able to absorb the restructuring costs and risks that adopting a new model brings, the concern has always been that smaller houses, which don't have the same safety net, are left in limbo.

Panichgul, who showed two collections in the new format, struck a philosophical note about the decision to press pause, saying: "It was time for my brand to explore a new business model and this opportunity allowed us to do so. We can now take the learnings from this to apply to the next evolution of Thakoon."