News from the bike industry: Fahrrad.de insolvent - other online retailers faltering
Update (as of 26.01.24): According to its own press release, the insolvency administrator of Internetstores GmbH yesterday received approval from the creditors' committee for measures to liquidate the business operations as a whole. Around 450 employees are affected. They are now at risk of being made redundant. The insolvency proceedings for Internetstores GmbH were applied for last October and opened by Bielefeld Local Court on 1 January 2024.
However, there are prospective buyers for individual assets of the online retailer. Some binding offers have been received for the domains, trademarks, brand rights and inventories of the fahrrad.de, Bikester, Brügelmann, Addnature and CAMPZ brands. Negotiations are also underway for the six stationary bike shops in Germany, according to the press release. Another offer is for the acquisition of all shares in the Swedish subsidiary Addnature AB with its online outdoor shops.
The insolvency administrator, Dr Christian Gerloff, now has to negotiate the very different nature and scope of the offers individually, but is confident of achieving this in the next four weeks.
Update (as of 24.10.23): Internetstores GmbH has now filed for insolvency in court and the provisional administrator has been appointed. The insolvency application announced last week by the company, which also owns Fahrrad.de, has now been received by Stuttgart Local Court.
The lawyer Dr Christian Gerloff from Munich has been appointed provisional insolvency administrator. Internetstores GmbH's assets can only be disposed of with the consent of the provisional insolvency administrator. In addition, the provisional insolvency administrator has the task of securing and preserving the assets. Internetstores GmbH employs around 600 people in Berlin, Stuttgart, Lyon and Stockholm. Other subsidiaries are also about to file for insolvency.
Update (as of 23/10/2013): Sporting goods retailer SportScheck is also affected by the financial difficulties that led to the insolvency of fahrrad.de, among others. Rene Benko's corporate empire - Signa - is also letting SportScheck go. According to various media reports, a new buyer has already been found: The British sports and fashion retailer Frasers wants to take over SportScheck with all its shops. Frasers is currently expanding its retail business across Europe - but is said to be known for its rough business methods. SportScheck was founded in 1946 by Otto Scheck and has been part of the Otto Group since 1991. About three years ago, Signa Retail bought SportScheck from the Otto Group.
The new owner from the UK wants to invest in the shop concept while strengthening the online business and expanding relationships with brand manufacturers. Frasers operates a partnership of its sports chain Sports Direct with the market leaders Nike and Adidas. Adidas boss Björn Gulden promised Frasers his support from the sporting goods giant from Herzogenaurach.
However, the competition authorities still have to approve the takeover. This is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2024, according to the press release. On Monday, Benko cancelled the commitment for a loan of 150 million euros to online sporting goods retailer Signa Sports United. Two years ago, Benko floated the company on the New York Stock Exchange. Signa Sports is now to close down uneconomical subsidiaries following increasing losses.
20.10.2023 | The news that Fahrrad.de is planning to file for insolvency is making big waves in the bicycle industry. Behind this is the decision by investor René Benko to turn off the money tap for the part of his company behind 80 online retailers. Signa Sports United (SSU) will not be granted a promised, unconditional financing of 150 million euros.
Manager Magazin reported on 17 October that Austrian investor René Benko's Signa Group has dropped its sports retailers under the umbrella of Signa Sports United (SSU): Benko is said to have sold the Sport Scheck brand to British sports giant Mike Ashley (Sports Direct) - and has also withdrawn the firm commitment for a 150 million euro loan to the Signa Sports United subsidiary. This also includes numerous online shops, such as Fahrrad.de, Chainreactioncycles.com (with the brands Vitus and Nukeproof), Probikeshop.com, Redcycling.de or Wiggle.com, but also the brand shops of Votec and Ortler Bikes.
Returns processing is currently not possible on these portals - this is shown by a banner at the top of the website (see cover image of this article). There appear to be serious reasons for this brief and uninformative announcement.
Returns processing stopped - what happens now
If the insolvency proceedings are authorised under self-administration, business operations can be resumed, according to the company. This is expected to happen in the coming week.
Insolvency under self-administration enables the company concerned to continue or resume operations under its own management and under the supervision of a trustee and to carry out a restructuring or reorganisation.
Who are Signa and René Benko?
Benko and his Signa Holding became known above all for the "rescue" of the capsized department stores' group Galeria, which was only partially successful - most of the branches have since been closed. The current round of bankruptcy reports also includes the fact that the Sportscheck chain, which was bought by Signa from the Otto Group at the time, is now being sold off by Signa and taken over by another investor. The outcome? Let's see, then we'll find out, they say in Bavaria.
Signa Sports United shares have continued to plummet since the IPO at the end of 2021. One share was once worth over seven euros. Most recently, the share was available for just a few cents. According to Wirtschaftswoche, the company's value has fallen from 3.2 billion US dollars to just a few million dollars.
More on the topic:
Maik Schröder
Editor
