Görtz remains strong in the north: branches in Oldenburg and Lübeck secured!

Görtz remains strong in the north: branches in Oldenburg and Lübeck secured!

Some positive news for the Hamburg shoe retailer Görtz: Despite the current bankruptcy, no further branch closings in northern Germany are planned. This is reported by the Kreiszeitung . The Görtz branches in Dresden and Oldenburg continue and remain open, while the insolvency proceedings were initiated at the Hamburg District Court.

Since the bankruptcy proceedings on January 20, 2025, the law firm Münzel & Böhm, as insolvency administrator, has taken care of the interests of Görtz Retail GmbH. Gideon Böhm, the provisional insolvency administrator, announced that possible investors are entitled to get involved. Some employees are transferred from the last closed Hamburg branch in the Europa Passage to Lübeck and Oldenburg, which shows that the loss of workplace at least does not affect the entire workforce.

branches affected, but hope remains

Although Görtz had to close numerous branches, including the parent company on Spitalerstrasse and other locations in Hamburg and other cities, the branches in Oldenburg and Lübeck are now open in Northern Germany. Since the first bankruptcy in July 2023, which enabled investor Bolko Kissling, the situation for Görtz has tightened again. Overall, the company closed some of its largest locations, including the branches in Hamburg and Leipzig.

With currently a good 30 remaining shops in Germany and Austria, the company hopes to secure a long -term perspective through a possible investor process. One focus is on bringing potential adopters together with landlords of the closure locations. Görtz fights for an economic recovery, especially because of the high rent debts that caused a large part of the closings.

Current trends and insolvency numbers

The situation at Görtz is part of a larger trend in Germany, as reported by the ifm bonn . In 2024, a total of 21,812 companies registered bankruptcy, which corresponds to an increase of 22.4% compared to 2023. This trend shows that the uncertainties that companies have also burdened in recent years continue to exist and numerous companies had to throw the towel.

At the beginning of the first insolvency proceedings in 2022, the group of companies had around 1,800 employees, 650 of whom could be held during the restructuring measures. Görtz, once equipped with around 160 branches in Germany and Austria, is now confronted with the hard reality that bankruptcies are a rare but repeated possibility in which many companies are fighting for their continued existence.

It remains to be seen which developments the investor Bolko Kissling brings with it and whether the remaining Görtz branches can create the turn. A look at the future of the Görtz brand remains exciting.