The Düsseldorf consulting company Falkensteg examined the large insolvencies in the fashion industry in 2024 and compared it with the previous year. Accordingly, the number of manufacturers and retailers that have fallen into trouble dropped by 42 percent from a turnover of more than ten million euros in 2024. In numbers, 19 companies had to register bankruptcy in the past year, while there were 33 companies the previous year.
The biggest bankruptcies of the past year include the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store and the Kadewe Group, the fashion company Esprit, the decoration dealer Depot (Gries Deco Company) and the shoe fashion chain.
“The consumer: Inside, confidence in the future is currently missing and concern for the safety of the workplace is coming to the fore. As a result, consumers and hoarding their money save, ”says Sebastian Wilde, partner at Falkensteg. He does not believe in a rapid relaxation of the situation. “The turbulence will also stop in 2025 and, if at all, only be low,” said Wilde. He therefore expects a slight increase in bankruptcies in the fashion sector and in retail in the single -digit area again because the situation of consumers will last a few months. Even economic impulses from politics could apply after the Bundestag election at the end of the year at the earliest, according to the management consultancy.