Görtz is insolvent again.
Only a year and a half after the last bankruptcy, Görtz has to go to the district court again.
The responsible district court in Hamburg has opened preliminary insolvency proceedings over the assets of Görtz Retail GmbH, as the responsible press office confirmed on Tuesday. Accordingly, Gideon Böhm from the law firm Münzel & Böhm was appointed provisional insolvency administrator.
The procedure opened is a so-called weak provisional order. This means that Böhm must now agree to the debtors’ actions in order for them to be effective. However, he is not the only one who has the authority to make the decision. At the same time, it is also Böhm who now has to check whether there is a reason for opening and, if so, what prospects there are for the company to continue.
“We are in very cooperative discussions with the management,” said the designated provisional insolvency administrator Böhm. “We will inform the employees at a short-term works meeting. To secure salaries, I suggested pre-financing insolvency money. Now I will get an initial overview of the company’s situation.”
Second bankruptcy in less than two years
The renewed bankruptcy follows just under a year and a half after investor and managing director Bolko Kissling joined the company. The Hamburg entrepreneur took over the retailer from the founding family in the summer of 2023 and led it out of bankruptcy. Since this takeover, however, there has never been any real peace at Görtz.
Although the company emerged from bankruptcy, the negative headlines surrounding the Hamburg shoe chain did not subside. After introducing a new store concept and a clothing line in May, which were supposed to set the course for the future, it became known a few weeks ago that the shoe retailer was threatened with eviction notices. Since August, six landlords have filed eviction proceedings against Görtz Retail GmbH, a subsidiary of Ludwig Görtz GmbH, at the Hamburg Regional Court, as the press office confirmed. Kissling himself rejected these allegations, but admitted that Görtz was “negotiating the future, including rents,” with almost all landlords.
According to Kissling, this has so far led to the closure of the outlet in Wiesbaden, but also to the opening of eight new branches across Germany. An expansion of the new concepts, Görtz Lifestyle and Görtz Lounge, was still planned in December – plans that could now be up in the air.
FashionUnited has asked Görtz managing director Bolko Kissling for comment.