The insolvency proceedings of Internetstores GmbH, a subsidiary of the also insolvent online sporting goods retailer Signa Sports United NV (SSU), were opened by the Bielefeld district court on January 1st, but it is unlikely that the company as a whole will continue to operate.
There are currently advanced negotiations, partly based on binding offers, about individual assets of the sports and bicycle goods retailer, but there is no viable offer for the continuation of Internetstores GmbH’s business operations as a whole, the law firm of insolvency administrator Christian Gerloff announced on Thursday . The creditors’ committee has therefore agreed to initiate measures to liquidate the business operations in parallel with the ongoing negotiations. Around 450 employees are affected by this decision.
future for some assets
The said assets for which there are interested parties and therefore a future include domains, trademarks, brand rights and inventories of individual brands, such as fahrrad.de, Bikester, Brügelmann. A total of more than 32 online shops for bicycles, bicycle accessories, sporting goods and outdoor products are part of the Internetstores GmbH portfolio. There are also bidders who have expressed interest in six of the company’s stationary bicycle shops in Germany, as well as an offer to acquire shares in the Swedish subsidiary Addnature, according to the announcement. The future of the branches in Austria still seems uncertain.
The internet store insolvency administrator expects the negotiations to be concluded soon. Within the next four weeks there should be clarity about the “various offers that vary greatly in type and scope”.
Internetstores GmbH applied for the opening of insolvency proceedings in October 2023. Since then, the umbrella company Signa Sports United has also filed for bankruptcy. The reason for filing for insolvency is said to have been the insufficient financial resources following the termination of an equity commitment from Signa Holding GmbH. Shortly afterwards, at the end of November, the holding company also announced insolvency proceedings.