Trapstar: London clothing brand put up for sale on insolvency marketplace
A London clothing brand that has been worn by the likes of Jay Z and Rihanna has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace, CityAM can reveal.
Trapstar, which sells luxury streetwear popular with young people, is seeking a buyer to help meet working capital challenges.
The brand, which was founded in 2005 and has also been worn by artists Stormzy and Central Cee, popularised the “drop” retail model in which limited-edition collections are released at short notice via social media posts to generate “hype”.
Trapstar celebrated a boom in demand during the pandemic, with turnover peaking at just under £40m in 2022 as customers rushed to get their hands on its hoodies, tracksuits and puffer jackets. But in 2023, profit slid from £7.4m to £1.2m while in 2024, sales slumped to £17.7m.
“Management have advised that recent revenue decline has primarily been driven by working capital constraints impacting inventory availability, rather than any underlying demand or brand performance,” Trapstar advisers said.
Rollercoaster growth for Trapstar
Alongside a direct-to-consumer model of selling clothes via a website and social media, Trapstar also struck deals with top fashion stores, including Oxford Street department store Selfridges.
The business has also expanded beyond London with significant sales in Europe and the US.
According to its latest accounts, Trapstar has 57 employees, while its four directors were paid a combined £3.6m in annual remuneration.
In 2024 the company said it faced “a challenging year for the business as both our customers and our supply chain had to deal with rising inflation against the backdrop of an uncertain economic outlook…we saw an increase in costs which led to a fall in our operation margin.”
“Our returning customers in terms of sales value and number of orders remained consistent, which continues to reflect our customer satisfaction.”