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Görtz remains strong in the north: branches in Oldenburg and Lübeck secured!
Bergedorf is spared from Görtz branch closures while the shoe retailer struggles with insolvency proceedings and looks for potential investors.
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 store closures are planned in northern Germany. This is what they report District newspaper. The Görtz branches in Dresden and Oldenburg are continuing their sales and will remain open while insolvency proceedings have been initiated at the Hamburg District Court.
Since the opening of insolvency proceedings on January 20, 2025, the law firm Münzel & Böhm has taken care of the interests of Görtz Retail GmbH as insolvency administrator. Gideon Böhm, the provisional insolvency administrator, announced that potential investors were entitled to get involved. Some employees will be transferred from the recently closed Hamburg branch in the Europa Passage to Lübeck and Oldenburg, which shows that the job loss does not affect the entire workforce.
Branches affected, but hope remains
Although Görtz has already had to close numerous branches, including the headquarters on Spitalerstrasse and other locations in Hamburg and other cities, the branches in Oldenburg and Lübeck remain open in northern Germany. Since the first bankruptcy in July 2023, which was made possible by the intervention of investor Bolko Kissling, the situation for Görtz has worsened again. Overall, the company closed some of its largest locations, including the branches in Hamburg and Leipzig.
With currently around 30 stores remaining in Germany and Austria, the company hopes to secure a long-term perspective through a possible investor process. One focus is on bringing together potential takeover buyers with landlords of the closure locations. Görtz is fighting for an economic recovery, especially due to the high rent debts that caused a large part of the closures.
Current trends and insolvency figures
The situation at Görtz is part of a larger trend in Germany, like that IFM Bonn reported. In 2024, a total of 21,812 companies filed for bankruptcy, an increase of 22.4% compared to 2023. This trend shows that the uncertainties that have weighed on companies in recent years continue to exist and that numerous companies have had to throw in the towel.
At the start of the first insolvency proceedings in 2022, the group had around 1,800 employees, of which 650 were retained during the restructuring measures. Görtz, once boasting about 160 stores in Germany and Austria, is now faced with the harsh reality that bankruptcies are a rare but recurring possibility, leaving many companies struggling to stay afloat.
It remains to be seen what developments investor Bolko Kissling will bring with him and whether the remaining Görtz branches can turn things around. The look at the future of the Görtz brand remains exciting.