Four days after the initiation of the preliminary insolvency proceedings of Görtz Retail GmbH, the preliminary insolvency administrator Gideon Böhm, appointed by the Hamburg District Court, has now spoken out. The situation of the shoe retailer, which was only rescued from bankruptcy in 2023, is critical.
As Böhm explained in a statement on Friday, the employees were informed about the initial results of his work as an expert at a works meeting. However, there doesn’t seem to be much reason for optimism, as Görtz’s current difficulties are said to have already begun with the takeover by the investor CK Technology Solutions GmbH.
The company around the current Görtz managing director Bolko Kissling only made the first part of the plan contribution of 500,000 euros promised as part of a previous insolvency plan, said Böhm. The second part, amounting to 1.3 million euros, was not paid but was offset against alleged counterclaims. In this regard, a legal dispute between the insolvency plan supervisor and the investor has been pending at the Hamburg Regional Court since May 2024.
In addition, Kissling, the managing director of Götz GmbH, plans to join the preliminary insolvency proceedings initiated on January 20, 2025 due to four third-party applications from landlords. He has announced that he will soon submit his own insolvency application for the company’s assets to the Hamburg insolvency court.
Problems lie with the previous insolvency event
However, the insolvency that preceded the current proceedings poses a second problem, because the previous insolvency event, on the basis of which the employees of Görtz Retail Gmbh have already received insolvency money from the Federal Employment Agency, has not been eliminated, according to Hamburg. As a result, in the opinion of the Federal Employment Agency, it is not possible to grant insolvency benefits to the 400 employees again.
Labor lawyers are currently investigating this perspective. Depending on the outcome of the audit, further legal action could be taken. Until this is clarified, however, attempts must be made to generate as much liquidity as possible from one’s own resources in order to be able to pay employees’ salaries.
Böhm nevertheless mentions a small ray of hope, as several well-known prospective buyers have already expressed their interest. Discussions in this regard have been initiated.
“The primary goal, however, is to make salary payments possible for all employees,” says Böhm. “At the same time, we are doing everything we can to ensure that the traditional company Görtz, its employees and customers continue to thrive in the long term.”
However, the solution is not the responsibility of the insolvency administrator, as the trademark rights of Görtz do not belong to Görtz Retail GmbH, but are owned by the Austrian company.