HALLE/WESTFALEN (dpa-AFX) - It's only been a good three years since fashion manufacturer Gerry Weber had to save itself from going out of business with the help of insolvency proceedings. Now the well-known clothing manufacturer from Halle in Westphalia is in crisis again. In order to reorganize itself, the company is planning significant cuts in its store network and job cuts of an as yet unknown amount, the company announced on Wednesday.

"The restructuring project is a necessary reaction to external circumstances," said Gerry Weber International chief Angelika Schindler-Obenhaus. She said the Corona crisis and changing customer behavior due to high inflation and declining purchasing power had hit the fashion maker hard. Many stores could no longer be operated profitably after Corona, she said.

In its restructuring efforts, however, the fashion company is this time taking a route rarely used in Germany so far. Gerry Weber International AG applied to the Essen District Court to initiate proceedings under the Act on the Stabilization and Restructuring Framework for Companies (StaRUG). The aim of the StaRUG proceedings is to enable entrepreneurs to restructure their businesses without having to go through insolvency proceedings. "Part of the project is to be a complete capital cut, which would also extinguish the stock exchange listing of the Gerry Weber International AG share," the statement said.

However, the fashion manufacturer will not completely avoid insolvency proceedings this time either. Gerry Weber Retail GmbH, in which the German retail business with its currently still 149 stores and 28 outlet stores is combined, is to be restructured with the help of insolvency proceedings in self-administration.

The retail business as a whole needs to be realigned, Schindler-Obenhaus said. "For this, we want to build the store network of the future. Because we firmly believe in the branch store. At the same time, we have to put every square meter of space to the test today," the manager said. By the end of June, it will be determined which stores have a future, it said. How many stores would have to be closed in the course of the restructuring would also depend on the landlords' willingness to negotiate.

Gerry Weber said it wants to focus on "the healthy core" in the future and further strengthen its successful wholesale business, e-commerce and international business. These areas are therefore not affected by the restructuring measures, said CFO Florian Frank. The ability to deliver will remain fully guaranteed and business operations will also continue in full.

Gerry Weber is not alone with its current problems. Numerous fashion retailers in Germany are currently fighting for survival

- including many well-known names. Germany's last major

department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof already sought rescue in protective shield proceedings at the end of last year. Fashion retailer Peek & Cloppenburg KG Düsseldorf (P&C) followed suit in March. The shoe retailer Görtz had already taken this step in September. Competitor Reno had to file for insolvency just a few weeks ago./rea/DP/jha