Corona consequences: well-known shoe retail chain insolvent - many branches have to close
Created: 07/12/2022 05:11
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
First Corona, then rising inflation and declining buying mood among consumers: This is causing many retailers difficulties - a well-known shoe retailer now has to close many branches.
Hamburg – The company is almost 150 years old – but now the Hamburg shoe retailer Görtz is insolvent.
The District Court of Hamburg has meanwhile opened the reorganization procedure.
The traditional company has over 160 branches in Germany and Austria.
Reorganization process: Görtz will soon have to close many branches
In September, Görtz announced in a statement that business operations in the branches, the headquarters in Hamburg and the two central warehouses would continue without restrictions.
"All stores are open," the company wrote.
At the same time, it had to admit that many branches will soon have to close.
To this end, the shoe retailer held talks with landlords of the respective loading areas.
The goal: to reduce the rent for the branches so that the business becomes profitable again.
If the talks are unsuccessful, the leases will be terminated – as will the employees of the respective business.
Shoe retailer Görtz has agreed a social plan with the works council
According to NDR, the management has agreed a social plan with the works council for these cases.
The fact that numerous branches are closed is “there is no alternative”.
The company has not yet officially announced exactly how many and which branches will be closed.
However, it is already clear that some shops will be closed.
According to the
Hamburger Abendblatt
, this includes the branch in Hamburg's Rahlstedt Center.
Some have already been given up, like the branch in the Beck Arkaden in Bad Säckingen, Baden-Württemberg.
The shop finally closed its doors at the end of November.
In addition, branches in Bremen, Essen, Dortmund, Bielefeld, Lüdenscheid, Flensburg, Lübeck and Cologne are to be closed or have already been closed.
The shoe retailer would now like to restructure itself in the restructuring process.
“Görtz is a strong and well-known brand that still has a lot of potential.
As an omnichannel retailer, we are convinced that after the restructuring we can expect a successful future and will achieve sustainable growth," said Frank Revermann, CEO of Görtz, in a previous announcement.
According to the company, it is suffering from high energy prices and customers' reluctance to buy due to high inflation.