The economic problems in the German fashion industry are getting more and more companies into trouble. The men’s fashion manufacturer Ahlers announced that it would file for insolvency at the District Court of Bielefeld for Ahlers AG and seven subsidiaries due to impending insolvency.
The trigger for the decision was essentially the business development, which was below planning, said company boss Stella Ahlers. The consequences of the corona pandemic and the associated disrupted supply chains, general reluctance to buy, high inflation and bankruptcies in retail made the step inevitable. Nevertheless, she sees future options for the company, emphasized Ahlers.
Subsidiaries also affected
According to the company, bankruptcy applications are also possible for the subsidiaries Ahlers P.C. GmbH, Ahlers Retail GmbH, Ahlers Zentralverwaltung GmbH, Ahlers Vertrieb GmbH, Pioneer Professional Clothing GmbH, Pioneer Jeans-Beclothing GmbH and Baldessarini GmbH are planned. The companies from abroad, on the other hand, are currently not affected.
With brands such as Baldessarini, Pierre Cardin, Pioneer and Otto Kern, Ahlers AG generated sales of EUR 171 million in the 2021/22 financial year. The revenues were thus well below the pre-corona level of 207 million euros. Ahlers currently employs around 1700 people. Around 400 employees work in the companies affected by the insolvency applications. They receive insolvency money from the Federal Employment Agency for the months of April, May and June.
Just last week, the fashion manufacturer Gerry Weber announced that it would apply to the Essen district court to initiate proceedings under the law on the stabilization and restructuring framework for companies (StaRUG) in order to accelerate the company’s financial restructuring process. The aim of the StaRUG procedure is for entrepreneurs to be able to restructure their business without having to go through insolvency proceedings. At the same time, the German retail business of Gerry Weber Retail GmbH is to be restructured with the help of insolvency proceedings under self-administration.
