Electronics
Ceconomy (the former Metro branch that owns electronics chains Media Markt and Saturn) has announced a thorough restructuring, which may cause up to 3,500 jobs being cut and several stores closed all over Europe.
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General
The Covid-crisis accelerates the reorganisation plans at Marks & Spencer: the British retailer wants to make three years of progress in one year, at the cost of another 950 jobs.
Fashion
(update) French fashion chain Promod is reducing the size of its foreign activities. The German branch has started an insolvency procedure, the Belgian stores are also being looked into. However, only one Belgian store is closing.
Dutch fashion label G-Star is suffering due to the corona crisis: in the US and Australia the brand applied for creditor protection, in Sweden bankruptcy was declared. Yet the company claims to be financially healthy.
German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof will close six fewer stores than initially planned, following negotiations with landlords. As a result, some 750 endangered jobs will be saved.
Ailing fashion group FNG (Brantano, Miss Etam) rearranges its board of directors. Former Flemish television boss Paul Lembrechts becomes CEO ad interim.
To recover from the Covid crisis, fashion chain Esprit has to cut costs. Half of its 100 stores in Germany will be closed, 1100 people will lose their jobs. A further 100 jobs will also be lost in the headquarters in Hong Kong.
Founder Pierre Mestre regains control of Orchestra Prémaman after a judicial reorganisation. This is good news for the Belgian branch of the baby chain, whose activities will be retained.
The coronavirus crisis has hit Celio hard: the French fashion chain has requested protection from creditors. For the time being, the Belgian stores are not affected by the measure.
Belgian fashion group FNG (owning brands like Brantano and Miss Etam) wants to reorganise its Belgian activities using the judicial reorganisation procedure. 47 stores will be closed, a quarter of all jobs in Belgium are at risk.
The ailing German department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has reached an agreement on a social plan: 62 of the 172 stores will close, which is not as much as initially feared.
Furniture
Belgian interior chain Casa International, active in eight countries, has applied for protection against creditors as the corona crisis has wiped out turnover. However, no store closures or redundancies are planned for the time being.
German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof may close up to half of its stores and cut 5,000 jobs in the wake of the coronacrisis. However, the move proves quite controversial, with fears of abuse looming.
Fashion brand Esprit says goodbye to its 56 stores in Asia: the chain will only remain active with its own retail network in China, even though the company is listed in Hong Kong. The group has also already applied for protection against creditors.
Esprit has requested, and obtained, protection against creditors for its German branch. The fashion retailer is particularly concerned about liquidity problems, as sales have plummeted as a result of the corona crisis.
German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is on the brink of collapse and is asking the German authorities for state aid in the form of emergency loans. So far, however, it has not had that much success.
