The retail giant Breuninger moves into the Munich fashion house Konen.
But the employees of the traditional company don't have to worry, assures Breuninger boss Holger Blecker.
Munich - The Stuttgart fashion retailer Breuninger has been looking for a location in the Bavarian capital for a long time.
Now the Swabians have found what they are looking for.
Last Thursday (May 27), the company signed the contracts to take over the traditional Munich company Konen.
Breuniniger boss Holger Blecker explains in an interview with
Merkur.de
what Breuninger has in mind with Konen, why the Stuttgart-based company continues to rely on the shopping experience in city centers despite the recent drop in sales in stationary retail due to the corona pandemic
.
Mr. Blecker, you want to take over the traditional Munich company Konen
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What is it that makes cones so attractive?
Konen is highly attractive for several reasons: Munich is a world-famous cultural and economic metropolis and, for us, a long-cherished wish that we can now fulfill, provided that the cartel authorities give it the green light.
Then we are represented right from the start with a well-established house in an excellent location, right in the heart of Munich city center.
Bram in Luxembourg also fits perfectly into our concept.
Culturally, Konen and Breuninger are also in line.
We share common values and a very similar business philosophy.
In addition, we can use cones to tap new customer groups and further strengthen the awareness of the Breuninger brand.
Will you continue Konen under the old brand or redesign it into a real Breuninger department store?
First of all, we have to wait for the antitrust authorities to examine it.
But of course we can well imagine integrating both traditional names under the strong Breuninger umbrella brand.
Breuninger is already well known in the entire German-speaking area.
The goal is clear: in the long term, a uniform brand presence in the interests of the company and the Breuninger brand, taking into account the strong local brands Bram and Konen.
Konen employs a total of around 700 people in the headquarters on Sendlinger Strasse and in Luxembourg. Do Konen employees have to worry about their jobs?
All Konen employment relationships will continue.
So nothing changes for the individual employee at first.
The focus is on opportunities, growth prospects and not the search for synergies and savings.
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Konen: The traditional Munich fashion house is about to be taken over by Breuninger.
© Manfred Bail / Imago
Breuninger boss: Hope for a timely examination of the Konen takeover by the cartel office
The takeover is still subject to approval by the Federal Cartel Office. Until when do you hope to make a decision here?
We are currently assuming that the exams will be completed fairly quickly and hope that they will be completed by the end of June 2021.
We would then be confident of being able to start the integration process as early as the summer.
With the planned takeover of Konen, Breuninger would have a total of 13 locations in the future. In recent years there had been repeated speculations about possible further Breuninger houses. In addition to Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt were also considered possible locations. Where should there be further branches in the medium term?
We firmly believe in the successful future of stationary retail.
And expansion is part of our corporate strategy.
In the future, too, we will continuously examine new concepts and investment and growth opportunities in order to expand our position as a leading multi-channel company in German-speaking countries and internationally.
We will continue to pursue this corporate goal even after the planned acquisition of Konen KG.
For example, Breuninger would also be a good fit for Hamburg or Frankfurt - with the right property in the right location.
With the Konen branch in Bartringen, Luxembourg, you would be able to make the leap abroad for the first time. Is the planned takeover of Konen the starting signal for further European expansion?
With Bram in Luxembourg, we are indeed entering the international arena for the first time, which is part of the very attractive portfolio of the planned takeover of Konen KG.
In addition to the promising location factors of Luxembourg, our neighbors France and Belgium also play a central role.
In this context, Breuninger also reaches French and Belgian customers through the house itself, as well as numerous other international customer groups who are disproportionately represented in Luxembourg.
Breuninger: sales decline in the three-digit million range due to corona closures
The corona pandemic has also had a heavy impact on the clothing trade. You had warned of an annual deficit for 2020 due to "Corona-related sales shortfalls". How deep did you slide into the red last year?
The textile retail trade in Germany is facing enormous challenges due to the Covid-19 * pandemic.
Due to the pandemic, some of the Breuninger stores were also closed for several months.
In the inpatient area, we had to cope with a loss of sales in the three-digit million range both last year and this year.
Unfortunately, our growing online business via our e-shop was only able to partially compensate for this.
We are optimistic that with the prospect of openings, we can make up for it a little and also catch up in stationary fashion.
Thanks to the progress made in vaccination, the prospects for the intended catch-up race are currently clearly brightening. Is there enough operationally to return to profitability in the current year?
The pandemic, which has been going on for over a year, has resulted in major sales losses for us and our competitors.
Of course, this is at the expense of our long-term investments in the future.
We normally invest around 100 million euros a year in the further development of our company, the sales outlets and our e-shop.
However, Breuninger is convinced that it is precisely in this difficult situation that the necessary foresight and sustainable investments are required in order to emerge from the crisis stronger in the long term and to further expand its leading position in the premium and luxury segment.
This means?
We will see how the overall situation will look due to the current vaccination progress and this year's pandemic development in autumn and winter.
For this reason, forecasts are still too vague at this point in time.
But we are hopeful.
Our hygiene concepts work and we are very well positioned with a plan for the future - now we need a uniform and binding opening perspective for the retail trade.
Breuninger: IPO not an issue
Munich is not only an interesting location because of its purchasing power. With the traditional Munich company Ludwig Beck, you would in future also have a listed competitor practically next door. Would an IPO be an issue for Breuninger in the medium term?
At the moment, an IPO is not an issue for us.
* Merkur.de is part of IPPEN.DIGITAL.
