The domestic shoe trade is getting smaller: the Salamander and Delka branches, together 40 branches with 300 employees, will close at the end of September. Both companies mainly have branches in the wider region of Vienna and in the provincial capitals. Sales will start on July 10.
The reason for this are the problems at the German Ara Group, which until recently acted as owner. Last year the business was already phased out and a restructuring process was started. They now want to concentrate on selling their own Ara shoes and retail is being sold.
“Create without bankruptcy”
Investors are being sought for Germany (brands Salamander and Lloyd). The company in Austria has been taken over by the restructuring specialist Rainer Schrems: “The goal is that we can do this without bankruptcy.” For this, the leases must be dissolved. The big sale starts on July 10. As a precaution, the employees were reported to the AMS for dismissal. However, efforts will be made to place as much as possible with competitors who are looking for personnel. Overall, there are thousands of job openings in the retail industry.
In 2009, the Ara Group took over Salamander, in 2011 Delka (then still 35 branches) was bought by Bawag. The overcrowded shoe market has already suffered from the pandemic. Only in April did Reno’s Austrian subsidiary (29 branches) go bankrupt.
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.
