For the time being, things will continue at Karl Vögele AG. The shoe retailer is now in a definitive debt restructuring moratorium, during which the business can be continued under the supervision of the administrator.
Last Wednesday, the hearing on the definitive debt restructuring moratorium was held before the district court in Uznach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. A day later, the company was informed that it can continue with the restructuring, explained Christian Müller, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Karl Vögele AG, when asked by FashionUnited. The decision was published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on Friday.
Since June 13, Vögele has been in the provisional debt restructuring moratorium, during which the asset situation and the prospects of a debt restructuring agreement are being examined. The trustee Baur Hürlimann AG has now been granted four more months for the restructuring by application to the district court.
“From the point of view of the board of directors, the administrator and the court, there is a prospect that Karl Vögele AG can be restructured, which would preserve the traditional Vogele Shoes brand,” said Müller. “By spring 2023 we want to put Vögele Shoes on a business and economically sustainable basis, albeit in a much smaller format.
Vögele is closing 51 stores – 235 employees have to go
Since the start of the restructuring in June, 51 stores have been closed. There are currently 28 branches left. Whether it stays that way depends on “developments and ongoing discussions” with the landlords, says Müller. However, the goal is not to cut branches, but to consolidate the company and “in the medium term even selective expansion”.
As a result of the closures, the company has also laid off 235 employees to meet the “legal and social requirements applicable in connection with the succession process”.
“The overarching goal is to further stabilize sales. We’re on the right track here, even if these painful cuts unfortunately couldn’t be avoided,” said the Chairman of the Board of Directors.