The Upper Austrian smartwatch manufacturer Viita Watches, based in Traun (Linz-Land district), is bankrupt. The credit protection association KSV1870 reported that a restructuring procedure without self-management for the start-up had been opened at the Linz Regional Court on Wednesday.
This concerns 16 employees and 30 creditors. The debts amount to 5.5 million euros. The amount of assets was initially unknown. Founded in 2017, the company produces premium smartwatches. According to the bankruptcy filing, the company was not over-indebted in the 2022/23 financial year, but had to accept significant losses in the following financial year.
The reason for this was changes in the display and search algorithm at Facebook’s parent company Meta, which meant that the target group could only be reached to a limited extent, KSV1870 learns from the application. Other causes include a loss compensation of 340,000 euros from the Covid-19 Financing Agency (Cofag), which was requested in 2022 but has not yet been received, as well as the sudden sending of a payment arrears certificate from the ÖGK, including a subsequent insolvency filing by the health insurance fund , it continues.
As part of the restructuring, creditors will be offered a restructuring plan with a 20 percent quota. Its financing must be achieved through the continuation of the business. It is now possible to sell the watches on Bugatti’s sales website, with significant profits expected in the coming months. In addition, Viita Watches states in its bankruptcy application that its own warehouse is worth more than 1.5 million euros.
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.
