The fashion house of French designer Christian Lacroix confirmed on May 28 that it had filed for bankruptcy. But while Lacroix may be the luxury goods indus -try's best-known recession victim, he's not alone. Hundreds of small European businesses are staggering from a steep drop in orders from big luxury groups, whose sales may fall as much as 20% in 2009's first half, Bain & Co. estimates. Societe Internationale de Lingerie (SIL), a longtime Paris supplier of lacy under-things to labels such as Christian Dior, Kenzo, and Sonia Rykiel, closed its doors in January, throwing 130 people out of work. Another recent casualty: Poitiers -based Sopim, which produced leather goods for handbag-maker Lancel, a unit of Switzerland's Richemont. Luxury groups like Richemont, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Gucci are offloading excess inventory to discount Web sites.
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