display
Wolfsburg / Braunschweig (dpa) - Germany's largest hairdressing chain Klier wants to ensure survival in the corona crisis with fewer employees and a thinned branch network.
The creditors' meeting approved a corresponding insolvency plan with a large majority, the company announced on Wednesday.
Managing director Michael Klier said that it was possible to maintain a total of 850 salons and shops with around 6400 employees.
At the start of the insolvency proceedings in December, the group said it had around 1,350 salons and shops in Germany with around 8500 employees.
The slump in sales during the pandemic pushed the company, headquartered in Wolfsburg, into bankruptcy at the end of 2020.
A restructuring process has been going on since September, which has now evidently convinced the donors of its future viability.
The trustee in the proceedings, Silvio Höfer, rated the approval of the insolvency plan as a great success, which proves the trust of the creditors in the sustainable restructuring.
This is the last stage of the legal proceedings for Klier Hair Group GmbH and the group expects to end the self-administration proceedings at the end of April.
display
Klier announced that all structures, processes and locations had been checked in the past few months.
One result of this test: "Permanently unprofitable branches had to be closed."
In view of the noticeable decline in visitors, high rents in expensive inner-city locations have long been no longer justified.
According to Klier, there were solutions with a large number of landlords that prevented further closures.
At the beginning of the insolvency proceedings, the Central Association of the German Hairdressing Trade emphasized the importance of the chain as by far the largest individual company in an otherwise rather fragmented industry.
“This is a heavyweight in this market segment,” said General Manager Jörg Müller.
Now there is a glimmer of hope.
"The Klier Hair Group is now robustly positioned and has a convincing strategy for the future," said attorney Detlef Specovius, who accompanied the restructuring process.
In addition to the locations in Germany, the Klier Group is also represented by companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Brands such as Essanelle or Super Cut are also included.
According to the company, only the German locations were affected by the insolvency proceedings.
The group had already decided to withdraw from Austria.
display
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210407-99-118013 / 3
Klier Hair Group