By Robert Becker
Shoe retailer Reno is broke!
As reported by the “Wirtschaftswoche”, Reno Schuhcentrum GmbH, the parent company of the shoe retail chain, has filed for bankruptcy. The business newspaper also reports that on March 28, 2023, the district court in Hamelin ordered preliminary insolvency proceedings. The preliminary insolvency administrator is therefore the lawyer Immo Hamer von Valtier.
Reno operates about 300 branches in Europe, almost 1100 jobs are affected by the bankruptcy. After Deichmann, Reno is the second largest shoe retailer in Germany.
The website of the shoe retail company also bears witness to the bankruptcy: it states that the online shop is “currently unavailable”. And further: “We ask for your understanding and will be back with news for you soon!” This news will probably not be the best …
The insolvency administrator explained to the “Wirtschaftswoche” newspaper that they first wanted to get an overview and “get business operations going again”. In addition, you want to give the employees a perspective.
Reno has been wobbling for a long time: The on-site shop and online trade only changed hands in September 2022. At the time, a press release said: “In the transaction of Reno Schuhcentrum GmbH with its respective subsidiaries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, all Reno locations in these countries as well as the Reno online shop were sold to the retail specialist cm.sports GmbH and its cooperation partner GA Europe sold.”
Bad times for shoe retailers
In general, things are bad for the shoe trade in our country: in 2022, every tenth shoe shop in Germany was closed, said Rolf Pangels, general manager of the Textile Shoes Leather Goods Trade Association (BTE), according to “RND” at the “Shoes” trade fair in Düsseldorf. Accordingly, the number of shoe stores has decreased by 1,500 shops: a drop of 13 percent.
In September 2022, the shoe retailer Goertz filed for bankruptcy, and in December Salamander was placed under a protective shield.