Deco chain Depot shortly before the end: shock for 3300 employees!

Deco chain Depot shortly before the end: shock for 3300 employees!

The decoration chain depot faces a difficult future and could possibly be located within 14 days before the end should not be found. This reports Merkur . The internal handling has already been initiated, and dismissals for all 3,300 employees of the Gries Deco Company GmbH, which are currently employed in 275 branches in Germany, should be effective by May 31 at the latest.

The situation is dramatic when you consider that the company had still employed 536 branches in 2019. The branch network has also suffered: 47 branches in Germany have already been closed, and the closure of at least 20 other locations is in prospect, whereby nine branches in North Rhine-Westphalia in particular should be affected.

insolvency proceedings and financing problems

The Gries Deco Company, which was founded in 1948 and has meanwhile achieved sales of 575 million euros, has initiated bankruptcy proceedings since September 2024. However, an originally planned donor who was to finance the takeover of the company has jumped off. These uncertainties are increasingly driving the company into the narrow. In 2023, a turnover of around 390 million euros was achieved, and about 4,400 employees were employed on the annual average, such as tz reported.

In the Munich branches, posters with the inscription "We close!" And "everything reduced!", Which indicates the acute threat that the company is exposed. In the Hofstatt branch, for example, there are discounts of up to 30 percent on items. While solutions are sought in the industry, the Gries Deco Company has discussions with two potential investors to avert the impending closure.

opportunities by Tedi and other interested parties

tedi, a nonfood discounter, is traded as a potential buyer for depot. This plans to increase the number of his own branches from currently 3,300 to 5,500 and has also registered interest in taking over the chains penny pipes and Kodi. However, Tedi demands the withdrawal of the current old shareholders of Depot before taking over the company. This strategy could be the key to saving depot, provided that it is possible to overcome the contractual and antitrust hurdles.

The number of insolvency proceedings and their statistics are a clear sign of the challenges that the industry faces. According to Destatis , corporate insolvencies are a serious topic in the entire industry that can have both economic and social consequences.

The coming days will be crucial to find out whether depot can take the necessary steps to secure his future or whether the consequences of bankruptcy are inevitable.