Brandy Melville is closing in Germany

Gen Z brand Brandy Melville is set to close its locations in Germany.

The five German locations in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin (two stores) and Munich are to close on Saturday, an employee of the Hamburg store confirmed to FashionUnited by telephone. Several videos about the closure previously circulated on the social media platform Tiktok.

Tiktok user Anastasiashyk posted several posts on the subject. The first short video from late December announcing the closure appears to have been filmed directly at one of the locations. In other videos, she showed gaps in the sales floor and announced discounts of up to 50 percent.

Controversial brand Brandy Melville closes in Germany

Brandy Melville was founded by Italian Silvio Marsan and his son Stephan Marsan, who has attracted attention in the past for his racist and discriminatory attitudes. Business Insider reported in September 2021 that Stephan Marsan should have clear ideas about the sales staff. These should be young, thin, pretty and white. Luca Rotondo, a former senior vice president, told the platform that he should not have black and larger employees in the store. In any case, it is certain that the brand is aimed at a certain body type – it only offers one size – “One Size Fits All” as the company calls it – which is presented in the online shop by slim girls and young women

However, it is not known what position father and son currently hold in the company. In general, the structure of the company is not communicated openly. According to its own statements, the Hungarian company Vimvera KFT, under the direction of Managing Director Mario Federico Bontempi, is responsible for the German online shop. Zoc Stock doo, based in Miren, Slovenia, is responsible for the distribution of Brandy Melville throughout the European Union.

The reasons for the closure in Germany, which is also said to affect the local online shop, are just as unclear. According to Anastasiashyk, the cause should be the logistics or a “change within the company”, but she cannot yet provide more detailed information for “legal reasons”. It is not clear to what extent the Tiktokerin, who has almost 106,000 followers on the platform and more than 26,000 on Instagram, is involved in the company. However, in a September video, she appears to be working in one of the stores.

Brandy Melville has not yet responded to a request from FashionUnited.de

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