The department store chain Mein Real (“Once there. Everything included.”) wants to get out of the crisis with insolvency proceedings under self-administration. After many sales, 62 stores still belong to Real. Verdi is outraged.
The hypermarket chain Mein Real has filed an application to open insolvency proceedings under self-administration. According to a statement from Real GmbH, more than 5,000 employees in 62 stores and the headquarters in Mönchengladbach are affected. Wages and salaries should continue to be paid.
The insolvency proceedings under self-administration will make it possible to maintain business operations and at the same time hold negotiations with competitors about the possible takeover of locations, it said. The company did not disclose which bankruptcy court the application was filed with.
According to the information, the new organization should preserve as many jobs as possible. The company emphasized that self-administration insolvency is only open to those companies “that are facing economic challenges but can present a viable business plan.” “WirtschaftsWoche” had previously reported on the bankruptcy filing.
The chain is owned by the financial investor SCP. He initially sold the company in June 2022, but bought it back in May 2023 in view of the “critical economic situation”. “Despite extensive operational improvements, previously misguided operational management decisions could not be corrected quickly enough,” said Real CEO Bojan Luncer. In this context, he spoke of a “challenging macroeconomic environment”. The application for self-administration insolvency proceedings offers a new opportunity to continue business operations, he emphasized.
Verdi: “That’s scandalous”
The Verdi state secretary for retail in North Rhine-Westphalia, Heino Georg Kaßler, was outraged. “The employees have to pay the price again for the management’s mismanagement,” he told the German Press Agency. In the case of closures during insolvency, the notice period is a maximum of three months. In the event of closures and unemployment, severance payments are limited to a maximum of 2.5 months’ salary. “This means that the SCP can carry out the business cost-effectively. This is scandalous because the salaries are paid through insolvency money and ultimately the taxpayer.”
SCP acquired the Real chain (slogan: “Once there. Everything included.”) with its 276 stores from the Metro trading group in 2020 in order to break it up and resell it. Kaufland, Edeka, Globus and Rewe secured a large number of the most attractive branches. The company with the remaining 62 locations then went to the family office of the Tischendorf family of entrepreneurs in the summer of 2022 before it was acquired back by SCP in May.
Source: Stern
