Zoom Image
Kika/Leiner: Just a week ago, René Benko sold the Austrian furniture chain
Photo: Alex Halada / IMAGO
The new owner of the large Austrian furniture retailer Kika/Leiner wants to file for bankruptcy for the chain. The restructuring procedure will be registered next week, investor Hermann Wieser announced. The day before, the entrepreneur had announced the closure of 23 of the 40 furniture stores at the end of July, as well as the dismissal of 1900 of the 3900 employees.
"The decision has been made: After reviewing the economic conditions of the company, the restructuring of the company will take place via a restructuring procedure that will be registered next week – this will ensure the continuation of the company," it said in a press release on Wednesday.
Last week, Wieser took over the operational business of Kika/Leiner from the Signa Group of Austrian real estate investor René Benko. On the occasion of the sale, Signa spoke of "the most difficult market and crisis conditions" for the furniture trade, but described Kika/Leiner as a "very good investment".
Signa Holding in crisis
The Signa Group acquired the Kika/Leiner Group in 2018. At the time, it paid a symbolic euro for the company's operations and 490 million euros for the company's real estate. René Benko's real estate and department store empire has been cracking for some time (read more here) since interest rates have risen and construction costs have risen exponentially. The industry is in a downturn, and real estate investment has become less attractive. It is known that Benko is looking for buyers for various objects.
In Germany, Signa owns, among others, the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK) retail chain. A restructuring plan envisages the closure of around a third of the last 129 branches. The insolvency proceedings ended at the end of May. The group's creditors are to forego a large part of the money, according to older reports in the order of 1.3 billion euros.
faq/dpa-AFX