The Herford clothing group Ahlers AG is insolvent.
Ahlers has filed for bankruptcy at the responsible district court in Bielefeld, the company announced on Monday. Applications were also submitted for the seven subsidiaries Ahlers PCGmbH, Ahlers Retail GmbH, Ahlers Zentralverwaltung GmbH, Ahlers Vertrieb GmbH, Pioneer Professional Clothing GmbH, Pioneer Jeans-Beclothing GmbH and Baldessarini GmbH. Other subsidiaries are currently not affected.
The reason given by the clothing supplier is the “business development that is below plan”, which was influenced by the “extremely adverse market conditions” and the impact on the company’s liquidity.
“With the major performance program set up at the beginning of the 2020/2021 financial year, we have strategically developed our brands, reduced costs and increased internal efficiency. However, the successes achieved are being wiped out by the current market environment,” said Stella Ahlers, CEO.
Next clothing group insolvent
Like the clothing supplier Gerry Weber, who announced the insolvency of its German retail subsidiary last week, Ahlers cited the consequences of the pandemic, consumer restraint and inflation as the cause of the changed market environment.
“However, Ahlers has strong brands, mature core competencies and an efficient organization. That makes me confident with a view to future options for our company,” said the CEO.
Ahlers has im Fiscal year 2021/2022 achieved a turnover of 170.9 million euros. The group was thus still below the pre-corona level, but was able to increase revenues by 19.9 percent compared to the previous year. However, the company is still in the red and posted a reported net loss of EUR 9.2 million in the past financial year.
Maintaining ongoing business operations is a priority
The District Court of Bielefeld appointed lawyer Biner Bähr from the law firm White & Case as provisional insolvency administrator, Ahlers AG announced a few hours after filing for insolvency on Monday afternoon. Bähr and his team will immediately get an overview of the situation, according to Herford. Maintaining ongoing business operations, which should initially continue for the entire group, has priority. The Annual General Meeting of Ahlers AG, which was scheduled for May 3, is to be postponed due to the current situation.
“Ahlers is a company steeped in tradition with a portfolio of strong fashion brands and one of the leading addresses for high-quality men’s fashion. Our priority must first be to create the conditions in cooperation with employees, trade customers and suppliers so that business operations can continue as smoothly as possible,” says Bähr. “Then it will be a matter of exploring all options that will enable a future for the group as a whole or for individual brands.”
Around 400 of the group’s 1700 employees are affected by the procedure. The affected employees will receive insolvency money from the Federal Employment Agency in April, May and June.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on April 24, 2023 at 2:55 p.m. with information about the provisional insolvency administrator of Ahlers AG.