These brands are retreating from downtown
Adler: The most recent victim of the Corona crisis in the textile trade is the traditional fashion chain Adler. Due to over-indebtedness, the company filed for insolvency proceedings for its 142 stores in Germany. The aim now is to promote the handling of the insolvency on one's own responsibility. As a rule, a savings program is launched that also means branch closures. Attorney Tobias Wahl from the specialist insolvency law firm Anchor was appointed as provisional administrator, according to a statement.
Dielmann: The popular shoe retailer closed 13 branches of its well-known brands Dielmann, Dstep and Sommerkind in December. 84 employees were laid off.
Douglas: Germany's largest perfumery chain wants to close almost every seventh branch in Germany. Around 60 of the 430 branches are to be closed and almost 600 employees will lose their jobs. Particularly explosive: Some branches that were closed in mid-December due to the lockdown could not even reopen.
Escada: Out for the luxury chain Escada too! Seven of the eight Escada stores in Germany will be closed at the end of February 2021. Parts of the parent company Escada SE slipped into insolvency last year. A good 100 of the 180 employees will be laid off. Only in Munich should customers be able to continue shopping at Escada.
Esprit: A good ten months ago, the German subsidiary of the Esprit fashion group initiated protective shield proceedings. The aim was to excuse Esprit. To this end, the group implemented a vigorous restructuring program. Almost half of the branches are to be closed in the course of this, employees laid off and costs reduced.
Flying Tiger: The ailing decoration giant Flying Tiger was sold to investor EQT earlier this week. The new owner announced that he intends to streamline the branch network worldwide. In Germany, the company (as of 2020) operates around 43 branches.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof: Department stores like Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt were once considered crowd pullers. But the situation changed. Customers now look at the goods on site, but then buy them in the cheaper online trade.
Corona also hit the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof group. A restructuring concept followed that was based on branch closures. 40 houses should close, 4,000 jobs should be cut. After sales had stabilized in the fall, the group applied for state aid for its 131 department stores. It is particularly bitter that online trading is still a weak point of the group and that sales boosts are missing as a result.
H&M: Textile giant Hennes & Mauritz wants to optimize his branch network. 250 branches are to close worldwide. It is unclear how many of these are in Germany. However, the unions had confirmed that talks about severance programs were already being held in this country. According to media reports, 800 employees would be affected.
Pimkie: The French fashion discounter also fled under a protective shield procedure last year. As part of the renovation, the German operating company announced that it intends to close half of the approximately 75 shops in Germany. This means that 150 employees will be laid off.
Topshop: The British fashion retailer launched an expansion offensive in 2018 and has been represented in Germany's most important shopping malls ever since. But the parent company Arcadia slipped into bankruptcy last year due to Corona. The brand was swallowed up by the British online retailer Asos for around 300 million euros a few days ago. However, Asos will not take over the shops themselves. The result: the branches may be closed.
Zara: In previous years, the Spanish textile giant Inditex was increasingly looking for premium locations in German city centers for its Zara and Zara Home brands. Here, too, the company will tend to withdraw in the next few years. The aim is to increase the flow of customers in profitable stores. There should therefore be fewer Zara branches in a city, and customers should concentrate on a few local locations. Spanish media had speculated that the parent company wanted to cut 1,200 stores worldwide. It is unclear how many of these are in Germany.
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