Furniture chain Kika/Leiner wants to file for bankruptcy. The Association for Consumer Information (VKI) now advises to exchange vouchers quickly, “for things that you can take with you immediately”. If bankruptcy is filed, vouchers must be released as a claim.
That usually does not pay off, said VKI chief lawyer Thomas Hirmke on Wednesday in the ORF program ‘Aktuell nach eins’. He also advises not to make any more down payments. The furniture chain itself, meanwhile, is trying to reassure concerned customers by e-mail. “Therefore, we naturally guarantee you all the deposits you have made and the vouchers you have purchased, which can still be redeemed in the Kika/Leiner branches,” said a broadcast to regular Kika customers.
Orders still need to be processed
The bonus points would also be retained and all orders would continue to be fulfilled “as we agreed”. Employee representatives criticized Tyrolean investor René Benko, whose Signa Group sold the Kika/Leiner companies to retail manager Hermann Wieser. “He always said we are a family. He’s kind of like a father figure. And we are all in the same boat,” said a Viennese works council of Leiner in the Ö1 “Mittagsjournal” on Wednesday. It turned out that this was not the case. Benko would have “just let the company down”.
AMS: Thousands of retail job openings
Together with the Labor Chamber, the union wants to be on site in all 40 branches in the coming two weeks to personally advise the employees. AMS board member Johannes Kopf said on the radio that it’s always tragic to lose your job, “but it’s a good time to start looking for a new job”. There are thousands of retail job openings. The AMS is also open to new courses, for example in nursing.
1,900 employees out of a total of 3,900 will be laid off. On Tuesday, the company’s new owner announced that 23 of its 40 locations would be closed by the end of July. In addition, the central departments and administration are downsized. Kika/Leiner now wants to set up a vacancy platform together with other companies such as Billa, Bipa, Deichmann and Müller, so that all parties involved can make a suitable offer. The supermarket chains Spar, Rewe and Lidl also approached the employees with a job offer. Bauhaus wants to lure Kika/Leiner employees with an extra sixth week of vacation.
Multiple reasons for losses
The post office and the police are also offering new jobs to those affected. The furniture store has not made a profit for the past five years. The liabilities (liabilities) of Kika/Leiner would amount to approximately 300 million euros. The existing assets, on the other hand, amount to only 150 million euros.
According to industry radar boss Andreas Kreutzer, there are several reasons for the negative development, for example few locations compared to the competition and no private label strategy. In addition, Austrians have not spent much on furniture and furnishings in the last decade, with the exception of the start of the corona pandemic.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
