The founding family Görtz of the shoe retailer of the same name is said to have given up their shares and put the ailing Hamburg company in the hands of Leonie and Burkhard von Wangenheim.
The new owner couple holds the entire company shares through Fürderhin GmbH – she is the managing director and he is a passive partner. This is reported by several media, including Manager Magazin.
As early as mid-February, the two had submitted the continuation concept that was most interesting for the creditors and the most viable offer, according to a statement from Görtz. The private person from Hamburg was not named at that time.
Von Wangenheim, who was born in Hamburg, now wants to position the shoe chain store in the middle and upper price segment, she said in an interview with Textilwirtschaft on Friday. Branded shoes should be the focus. But accessories and clothing will also be part of the concept, but more about the digital marketplace range of the partners. Overall, omnichannel should become more attractive again.
Management remains, 80 shops have to close
As already announced in February, the previous management level, consisting of Managing Director Frank Revermann and CFO Tobias Volgmann, is to be retained. Von Wangenheim is not interested in an operational position in the company, she told the specialist magazine. The new investors also do not seem to deviate from the previous plans to concentrate on around 80 locations. Accordingly, around half of the 160 locations in Germany and Austria have to close.
In September, the Hamburg shoe retail group Ludwig Görtz GmbH applied for a protective shield procedure for the holding company and for insolvency proceedings under self-administration for the two operating subsidiaries Görtz Retail GmbH and Görtz Logistik GmbH. At the end of October, the judicial reorganization proceedings of the parent company were opened and self-administration was ordered.
Görtz has not yet responded to a request from FashionUnited.