The Munich fashion house Konen can look back on a long and eventful history.
Now the traditional company comes into new hands.
Munich - The traditional Munich company Konen has new owners. The fashion house, whose history goes back to 1871, goes to the Stuttgart industry giant Breuninger. The corresponding contracts for the takeover of the Konen parent company in Sendlinger Strasse and the Bram branch in Luxembourg were signed on Thursday, Breuninger boss Holger Blecker told
Merkur.de
on Sunday
. The working relationships of the total of around 700 Konen employees would be continued, assured Blecker. "We need such great people."
"Munich as a cosmopolitan city and Luxembourg as attractive international destinations have long been preferred locations for Breuninger," said Blecker.
With its "strong brand, deep local roots and close customer relationships, the Konen family business is a perfect addition to our stationary portfolio".
Fashion house Konen: Breuninger hopes for the green light from the cartel office by the end of June
However, the step is still subject to approval by the Federal Cartel Office, he emphasized.
They hope to make a decision by the end of June.
Blecker did not comment on the purchase price on Sunday.
The Breuninger boss said they had agreed not to disclose.
Blecker also initially kept a low profile on the other plans in Munich, referring to the upcoming antitrust investigation.
But one could well imagine "an integration of both traditional names under the strong Breuninger umbrella brand", explained Blecker.
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Holger Blecker: The head of the Stuttgart fashion house Breuninger wants to take over the traditional Munich company Konen.
© Company
With the takeover of the two Konen locations in Sendlinger Strasse and in Bartringen in Luxembourg, Breuninger will now have a total of 13 department stores.
The group, which has around 5500 employees to date, includes the headquarters in Stuttgart and other stores in Nuremberg, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Leipzig, Erfurt, Dresden and on Königsallee in Düsseldorf, among others.
There is also a thriving internet business.
In addition to the home market in Germany, the Stuttgart-based company has also opened its own web branches in Austria and Switzerland in recent years.
Mdehaus Konen: Breuninger takeover intensifies competition in Munich
With the Swabians joining Konen, competition in the premium and luxury segment in the Bavarian capital is likely to intensify in the future. In addition to the well-known Munich luxury department store Oberpollinger and Lodenfrey, the traditional men's outfitters Hirmer and Ludwig Beck are also fighting for the wealthy clientele.
The Munich city center is considered a particularly lucrative location in the industry. According to a current estimate by the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK), the greater Munich area is the financially strongest region in Germany with an average per capita purchasing power of a good 30,000 euros (see table). In addition, with the foreseeable end of the corona pandemic, the industry is hoping that tourists from the Middle East, China, Russia and the USA will return. The Stuttgart-based company doesn't want to miss that either. "Munich is also very attractive because of the visitors," said Blecker.
With a turnover of a good 860 million euros and a surplus of 19.8 million euros in the pre-Corona year 2019, Breuninger is considered an industry heavyweight.
However, the Swabians also had to accept a setback due to the corona-related closings.
You have to cope with "in the stationary sector both last year and this year a loss of sales in the three-digit million range", said Blecker.
Even the booming online business was unable to fully absorb this.
Fashion house Konen: Corona pandemic affects traditional Munich house
The traditional Munich company Konen recently invested heavily in the expansion of its online shop and in both of its stores. In 2019, the revenues of Konen Bekleidungshaus GmbH & Co. KG fell by around 3.5 percent to just under 92 million euros. The net loss in 2019 was 1.82 million euros after around 731,000 euros in the previous year. For 2020, Konen had initially hoped for an increase in sales and a "slight" improvement in earnings, but the forecast was canceled because of the corona pandemic. The “massive loss of sales” due to the interim closings should lead to “a sharp drop in sales and a sharp drop in earnings” in 2020, according to the forecast report for the 2019 annual financial statements.
