The bankruptcy of Kika/Leiner also affects many customers of the furniture chain. Since the bankruptcy in mid-November, vouchers can no longer be exchanged. According to the curator, there are also “a large number” of customers who have suffered damage due to advances already paid. A plan should be presented at the end of this week.
According to curator Volker Leitner, there are “a large number” of injured customers whose down payment, for example for a kitchen, cannot be recovered due to insolvency rules. There are “many cases of hardship.” “Unfortunately, insolvency law does not provide any exceptions or leeway for this,” says Leitner.
Exam completed at the end of this week
The curator of Kika/Leiner is currently checking which customer orders can be executed in accordance with the provisions of insolvency law. This review is expected to be “largely” completed by the end of this week. Leitner explained that there is “a right to segregate a portion of deposits resulting from properly entered into deposit guarantees.”
Bad prospects for customers
The furniture guarantees are based on a purchase contract. The curator could enter into the agreements concluded before the declaration of bankruptcy and the customers would then have the ordered goods delivered by Kika/Leiner upon payment of the entire invoice. “In many cases it will probably happen that the trustee does not enter into these contracts and then the advances made will unfortunately only have to be registered as a bankruptcy claim in the insolvency proceedings,” said Maximilian Eder of the Association for Consumer Information. VKI) on Ö1 on Thursday -“Morning Journal”.
Vouchers can be registered with the court
In the case of vouchers, affected customers can register the voucher value as a claim with the Regional Court of St. Pölten as the responsible insolvency court. Registration costs 25 euros. How much voucher holders get back depends on the outcome of the transaction. In the event of bankruptcy, the quota is usually only a small percentage of the value of the voucher.
General examination meeting postponed to February 21
The meeting of the Kika/Leiner restructuring plan scheduled for February 21, 2025 was canceled due to the conversion into bankruptcy proceedings. Instead, the general examination meeting originally scheduled for January 17, 2025 was postponed to this date. “During the general audit meeting, the timely registered claims of the creditors are examined,” says creditor lawyer Stephan Mazal of Creditreform.
Although the deadline for creditors to register claims remains the same as January 10, 2025, the trustee has more time to investigate the registrations. “Due to the expected large number of claim registrations, the trustee will also need this time,” said Mazal.
Creditors expect many claims for damages
In addition to the employee claims, the creditor protector expects numerous notifications from deposit creditors and damage claims in the bankruptcy proceedings of Kika/Leiner. If the restructuring failed, the furniture chain would have already declared its debts (liabilities) of 139 million euros in its bankruptcy application in mid-November.
1,350 employees will lose their jobs
After the goods are sold at Kika/Leiner, the receiver may close the remaining 17 locations in January or February. 1,350 employees of the furniture chain will then lose their jobs. Competitor XXXLutz wants to take over some of those affected. The furniture giant from Wels recently had 400 vacancies open in sales, administration and logistics. “Our doors are open,” XXXLutz manager Thomas Saliger said in mid-November. The Austrian Post, Ikea and McDonald’s, among others, have offered jobs to Kika/Leiner employees.
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.
