After decades as one of Israel’s largest clothing groups, Honigman entered court protection in February 2018 with reported debts of NIS 234 million, including NIS 128 million owed to banks and NIS 13 million owed to employees. The company operated roughly 150 branches and directly employed more than 1,000 people. Its owners, brothers Yaakov and Micha Honigman, had reportedly sold real estate, mortgaged their private home in Herzliya Pituah, and injected personal funds into the business before the collapse. The crisis reflected the shift toward online and overseas shopping, but observers also described Honigman’s stores as outdated and uncompetitive. The trustees then sought buyers for portions of the chain, warning that around 700 employees could lose their jobs and that suppliers, fabric manufacturers, and sewing workshops might recover little or nothing. The proceedings took an especially damaging turn when company inventory presented at approximately NIS 120 million was reassessed at only NIS 38.5 million to NIS 43 million, prompting the court to order an investigation into the apparent inflation of its value. By April, only 38 stores were sold to the KIWI operator for NIS 6.25 million, while the historic women’s chain was liquidated. Honigman Kids survived under new ownership, but TNT later entered another insolvency proceeding, leaving the original group effectively dissolved and illustrating how a heavily indebted retail empire can transfer its viable brands while employees, suppliers, and creditors absorb the collapse.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2010s
The 2018 Collapse of Honigman: 1,000 Jobs, Inflated Inventory Claims, and the Breakup of an Israeli Fashion Empire
Honigman, Honigman Kids, and TNT / 2010s
After decades as one of Israel’s largest clothing groups, Honigman entered court protection in February 2018 with reported debts of NIS 234 million, including NIS 128 million owed to banks and NIS 13 million owed to employees. The company operated roughly 150 branches and directly employed more than 1,000 people. Its owners, brothers Yaakov and Micha Honigman, had reportedly sold real estate, mortgaged their private home in Herzliya Pituah, and injected personal funds into the business before the collapse. The crisis reflected the shift toward online and overseas shopping, but observers also described Honigman’s stores as outdated and uncompetitive. The trustees then sought buyers for portions of the chain, warning that around 700 employees could lose their jobs and that suppliers, fabric manufacturers, and sewing workshops might recover little or nothing. The proceedings took an especially damaging turn when company inventory presented at approximately NIS 120 million was reassessed at only NIS 38.5 million to NIS 43 million, prompting the court to order an investigation into the apparent inflation of its value. By April, only 38 stores were sold to the KIWI operator for NIS 6.25 million, while the historic women’s chain was liquidated. Honigman Kids survived under new ownership, but TNT later entered another insolvency proceeding, leaving the original group effectively dissolved and illustrating how a heavily indebted retail empire can transfer its viable brands while employees, suppliers, and creditors absorb the collapse.
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