The clothing supplier Gerry Weber International AG has taken a significant step forward in its restructuring efforts. On Friday, the company announced that the Essen district court had confirmed the restructuring plan presented at the end of July with the changes made in August. The creditors had already approved the plan “by a large majority” on August 18th.
The plan includes, among other things, a “complete capital cut,” which will result in the withdrawal from the stock market. The existing shareholders will therefore “leave without compensation”. In return, a capital increase to 50,000 euros will be carried out. The new shares would be “fully subscribed to by a restructuring investor, GWI Holding S.à rl, based in Luxembourg,” Gerry Weber announced in August.
The clothing retailer has implemented extensive cost-cutting measures as part of its restructuring program
The clothing supplier has been going through a restructuring process since mid-April as part of the law on the stabilization and restructuring framework for companies (StaRUG). At the time, insolvency proceedings under self-administration had been filed for the German retail subsidiary Gerry Weber Retail GmbH. In July, the Austrian subsidiary Gerry Weber GmbH, Vienna, also filed for bankruptcy.
As part of its restructuring efforts, the company is implementing drastic cost-cutting measures. 122 stores in Germany were closed and jobs were cut. For Austria, it was decided to completely withdraw from stationary retail. In general, Gerry Weber wants to concentrate primarily on the wholesale business in the future.
In view of the upheaval and the planned conversion of the group into a GmbH, CEO Angelika Schindler-Obenhaus left the company at the end of September. Since then, the clothing supplier has been led by board member Dirk Reichert.