On Friday, Peek & Cloppenburg KG Düsseldorf filed an application for a protective shield procedure with the competent district court in Düsseldorf.
The fashion retailer is thus adapting “to the changed market conditions and other external and internal influencing factors,” said Peek & Cloppenburg on Friday. The company wants to restructure under the direction of its own management. Restructuring expert Dirk Andres from the law firm AndresPartner will support the retailer as the restructuring manager. The court has appointed lawyer Horst Piepenburg as provisional trustee.
“The protective shield procedure is an effective tool for restructuring companies,” said Andres. “In the coming weeks, we will start talks with all the key stakeholders and, on this basis, press ahead with our plans for the reorganization of Peek & Cloppenburg KG, Düsseldorf.”
Peek & Cloppenburg adjusts online strategy
The reason for the protective shield procedure is a corona-related slump in sales in 2020 and 2021, which weighed on the company’s liquidity. “The effects hit us hard and caused a three-digit million loss,” says co-managing director Steffen Schüller. In addition, consumer behavior is still cautious due to the Ukraine war. Delivery bottlenecks, increased energy, wage and sourcing costs, rising interest rates and the slight recession have further clouded the economic situation “at the end of last year”, according to reports from Düsseldorf.
In response to the changed buying behavior during the pandemic, Peek & Cloppenburg invested a three-digit million amount in the e-commerce sector in 2021. However, a reluctance to buy can also be felt in online retail. For this reason and because of the “developments on the cost side”, the online strategy must be reconsidered and adapted to the given circumstances.
“We are sticking to our multi-brand omnichannel strategy. Our focus is now clearly on our core business in stationary retail and thus on our stores,” said co-managing director Thomas Freude. “The online area is still an important part of our business model, but we will act more cautiously here than in previous years. We will now work out the details even more precisely as part of the protective shield.”
downsizing
It is already clear that as part of the restructuring, a “not insignificant reduction in staff” in administration and the associated management level is necessary. More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The salaries of the 6,800 employees – 800 employees in the head office and 6,000 employees in the stores – will be paid by the employment agency in the next three months.
The 67 German locations and the online shop will remain active. According to the current status, there are no plans to close shops. However, “measures for the necessary adjustment of profitability and framework conditions” would be examined by individual locations.
A protective shield procedure was also instituted for Peek & Cloppenburg Retail Buying GmbH & Co. KG. Other companies of the group in Germany and abroad as well as the sister company Peek & Cloppenburg in Austria are not affected.