How 5 Small Branding Mistakes Killed a 5 Billion Dollar Luxury Company

SSENSE filed for bankruptcy in August 2025 after collapsing from a 5 billion dollar valuation in just 4 years. As a branding consultant, I analyzed exactly what went wrong and identified 5 fatal mistakes that destroyed this luxury fashion giant. This deep dive covers their targeting strategy failures, pricing disasters, leadership bottlenecks, operational breakdowns, and strategic positioning errors. Learn how small branding decisions compound into massive business failures and discover the lessons every company needs to avoid making these same deadly mistakes. Perfect for entrepreneurs, business owners, marketers, and anyone interested in luxury retail strategy, brand management, and case studies of major corporate collapses. I break down the specific data behind their 28 percent revenue decline, vendor payment issues, customer service failures, and how competitors like Mytheresa succeeded while SSENSE failed. This analysis includes insights from former employees, industry experts, and financial data to show exactly how seemingly minor strategic errors can destroy billion dollar companies in the luxury ecommerce space.