The shoe manufacturer and retailer EOD is insolvent.
The company, which owns the Groundies shoe brand, is aiming for a reorganization, EOD announced on Thursday. At the end of March, the management filed an application for preliminary insolvency proceedings at the Freiburg District Court.
The court has appointed lawyer Dirk Pehl from Schultze & Braun, a service provider for insolvency administration and advice on restructuring and insolvency law, as provisional insolvency administrator. Pehl has already traveled to the company headquarters in Freiburg im Breisgau to check the economic situation and restructuring options.
EOD was already undergoing restructuring measures and now wants to use the restructuring to overcome “the causes of the economic difficulties”. As in many cases, the reason is “the consequences of the corona pandemic with partially closed stores and the economic crisis due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine,” according to the company. In addition, customers were reluctant to buy due to inflation.
“Despite the measures taken at an early stage, including a focus on the Groundies own brand and a reduction in the previously wide range, EOD was unable to achieve the turnaround outside of insolvency proceedings,” said Pehl. “The preliminary insolvency proceedings now offer the opportunity to continue down the path of restructuring. I am confident that the EOD can also be set up in an economically sustainable manner. We are not starting from scratch.”
Jobs should be secured
According to initial assessments, Pehl sees restructuring via an insolvency plan and support from investors as a possible solution. He informed the approximately 120 employees of EOD about the procedure and the next steps. The salaries are secured through the insolvency money until May. The aim is to keep jobs here as well.
EOD is active online in 194 countries via its own online shop or other providers. There are also own stores in Freiburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Leipzig and Vienna, which will remain open until further notice. The online shop of the Groundies brand should be available again shortly.
EOD GmbH was founded in 2007 by Goetz Herzog in Freiburg im Breisgau. The founder died in 2021. The company is managed by Managing Director Philip Raum.