Insolvent decoration chain Depot: backup solution secures 236 jobs

There is a second chance for the insolvent decorative chain Depot Handels GmbH, which operated 49 branches in Austria with 349 employees. This was the result of the report and audit meeting on Tuesday. According to Creditreform, a rescue solution was put together for the trading company, which recently had a turnover of 49 million euros. At the beginning of September, the liquidator concluded a purchase agreement with the newly founded Gries Deco GmbH, based in Vienna, and the previous German parent company Gries Deco Company GmbH led by Christian Gries.

Gries Deco takes over all merchandise and 29 of the 49 branches, and Gries Deco Company takes over the operating and office equipment of the branches taken over. A total of 113 employment relationships were terminated; the remaining 236 employees will continue to be employed by Gries Deco GmbH.

“This is a good solution when you consider how the retail sector is under pressure,” says Gerhard Weinhofer from Creditreform.

Protective shield proceedings in Germany

As of September 30th, 20 branches were closed. Actually, 33 of the 49 locations were supposed to be continued, but the Gries Group was unable to reach an agreement with four landlords.

The latter itself wobbled vigorously. In July 2024, protective shield proceedings – self-administration insolvency – were opened in Germany for the Gries Deco Company in order to protect and restructure it from creditors’ access.

Imports from Italy, India and China

At the beginning of August 2024, the Austrian subsidiary slipped into bankruptcy. This is because negative results have been achieved in recent years, which could only be covered by shareholder loans.
In particular, the geopolitical crises such as the war in Ukraine and the attacks by the Houthi militias on ships in the Red Sea are said to have led to delays in the supply chains, it was stated in the bankruptcy filing.

Because Gries Deco imports goods not only from Italy, but especially from China and India. Increases in purchase prices and changes in consumer behavior since the Covid-19 pandemic were also cited as causes of insolvency. While it was originally assumed that Depot Handels GmbH’s claims would be around 15.85 million euros, only around ten million euros have now been registered.

Gries Deco currently operates more than 500 branches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland under the name Depot. There are now locations in all major cities in Germany. According to the Creditreform balance sheet, the entire Gries Group is said to have had sales of around 561 million euros in 2022 with around 7,800 employees.

The following corporate divisions, i.e. Depots Handels GmbH locations, were closed:

Bischofshofen EKZ Karo Depot
Wels Shopping City Depot
Liezen ELI EKZ Depot
St. Pölten EKZ Depot
Mattighofen, MCenter Depot
Leoben City Shopping
Baden
Vienna main station
Vienna Westbahnhof
Milk
Vienna Marialhilfer Street
Vienna Danube EKZ
Asten
Oberwart
Hartberg
Vösendorf

Eugendorf
Gleisdorf
Spittal ad Drau
Völs CYTA