PARIS — French contemporary brand Ba&sh posted an 11 percent rise in fourth-quarter sales, driven by strong holiday demand, rounding out a year of recovery that lifted full-year revenue to 300 million euros as the brand continues to execute its founder-led turnaround.

Full-year like-for-like sales rose 9 percent in 2025, with momentum building progressively over the course of the year.

The first quarter was “a bit more difficult,” according to chief financial officer Géraldine Dubois, before performance accelerated from the second quarter onward, with the company delivering double-digit growth through the remainder of the year. The fourth quarter benefited in particular from strong holiday sales and growing demand for accessories.

“2025 was quite incredible because the first quarter was negative, and then quarter after quarter we became more and more positive,” said chief executive officer Dan Arrouas. Ba&sh is a privately held company and the figures were provided by the company.

The results stem from Ba&sh’s turnaround plan, titled “New Beginnings,” which was launched last March after cofounders Sharon Krief, Barbara Boccara and Arrouas regained operational control of the company in late 2024.

The strategy was reinforced by a financial restructuring completed in March 2025, which secured continued backing from lender HLD alongside a 15 million euro capital injection from shareholders, strengthening the company’s balance sheet and providing a foundation for recovery.

Under the founders’ renewed leadership, Ba&sh has focused on tightening operational discipline, reinforcing its brand identity and shifting toward a more controlled growth model.

“‘New Beginnings’ was about alignment — of messaging, of collections with the iconics, of retail execution, of digital,” said Arrouas. “We went back to the fundamentals of Ba&sh — the collections, the strong DNA, and the boutiques.”

A key pillar of the strategy has been a rationalization of the retail footprint. Ba&sh closed about 50 stores over the past year, with further closures planned over the next two years. Cities that had several stores within close proximity saw doors close.

“We decided to rationalize the network, and to reduce it,” said Arrouas. But the decision to close stores was not driven solely by performance. “The decision factor is also, does this store serve the brand?” he added.

The company is prioritizing larger, more expressive retail spaces, typically between 1,000 square feet and 1,600 square feet, designed to better showcase its growing categories, including accessories and wellness.

“Less and better [stores] is indeed very important in our approach,” said Arrouas.

Ba&sh plans to open three flagships in 2026, including locations in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district of Paris and in Bordeaux. In London, Arrouas said its current network of 11 standalone stores “has reached a kind of maturity.” The company plans to relocate and expand its Marylebone store into a flagship format, while upgrading and renovating its other locations in the capital.

The company is also investing in digital, including a forthcoming redesign and replatforming scheduled to begin later this year and rollout in 2027, as it seeks to balance its physical retail network with a stronger online presence. Digital now accounts for nearly 25 percent of revenue.

Alongside retail and digital restructuring, Ba&sh has shifted its marketing strategy, reducing its reliance on performance-driven advertising and increasing investment in brand-building.

“Over the past two or three years, we spent a lot on paid performance,” said Arrouas. “We stopped the race to acquire customers like that. We decided to refocus on the brand and put the brand back at the center of our concerns.”

The move reflects a broader shift away from costly customer acquisition toward building longer-term brand equity.

Accessories have emerged as a key growth engine, both for revenue and for customer acquisition. The category grew 20 percent in 2025, driven by handbags and jewelry.

Its hero “June” bag, a slouchy drawstring tote, sold between 20,000 and 25,000 units over the past two years, according to Dubois. “That’s huge for us,” she said.

Accessories are also helping the brand reach a younger audience. While Ba&sh’s core customer sits in the 40-to-50 age range, the company is increasingly attracting Gen Z consumers through entry-level products.

“Accessories have been developed and that allows us to recruit a new clientele,” said Dubois. “Now, thanks to this activity, we’re managing to recruit people between 18 and 30.”

These new shoppers, described by the company as “first-time buyers,” typically enter through accessories before transitioning into higher-priced ready-to-wear.

“We see that they enter through accessories, they get to know the brand, and they come back,” said Arrouas. “It’s very important for us to refresh that customer base.”

Ba&sh has also begun expanding into wellness, hosting three customer retreats in 2025 alongside developing products such as bodywear. The category is expected to play a larger role in the business going forward.

“It is a central topic for 2026,” said Arrouas. “We want to go a bit further than just making products.”

The move into wellness reflects both a product strategy and a broader push to evolve Ba&sh into a lifestyle brand, extending beyond apparel into experiences.

Ba&sh has so far had a strong first quarter and expects an overall “very good” start to 2026, according to Dubois, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and pressure on supply chains.

The company is also pushing to improve profitability by reducing discounting and increasing full-price sales. It has cut the number of promotional days and adjusted its pricing strategy, while investing in better demand forecasting.

“We now buy quantities we expect to sell before sales. If there’s some left, we discount it, but ideally not,” said Arrouas.

Ba&sh is using planning software Anaplan, which incorporates artificial intelligence, to improve inventory management and reduce reliance on off-price sales.

As part of this approach, the company said 2026 growth may be modest in revenue terms, but more profitable.

“In 2026, top-line growth may not be huge — around 300 million euros to 310 million euros — but it will be profitable growth, driven by reduced markdowns,” said Arrouas.

Despite external pressures, including rising freight costs linked to geopolitical tensions, the company said it is focused on maintaining operational control and resilience.

“We won’t avoid disruptions, but we can anticipate and manage them to avoid major financial impact,” said Dubois. “The goal is to absorb them, not suffer them.”

Ba&sh continues to operate in key international markets, including the U.S., where it has flagships in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and China, where it has around 50 points of sale. In both markets, the focus is on improving existing performance rather than aggressive expansion.

In China, the company is pursuing a strategy of rationalization and like-for-like growth, while in the U.S. it sees further upside in its existing stores.

Looking ahead, Ba&sh plans to further invest in artificial intelligence, with a new hire set to be announced April 15 to support deployment across the business.

“We want to be a responsible fashion company — we are a B Corp — but also tech-driven,” said Arrouas. “It’s very new. We need to be careful, but we are working on it.”