After bankruptcy, the German shoe chain Reno stopped almost all of its operations. Now the brand is celebrating a surprising comeback.
The German shoe chain Reno filed for bankruptcy last year. The company had to close a large part of the remaining 180 branches and lay off employees. During the course of the process, however, a new investor was found who now wants to secure the future of the company.
The Kienast group of companies, which is already represented in the shoe business with chains such as the ABC Schuh-Center and the K+K Schuh-Center, has secured the brand name and some Reno branches in the insolvency proceedings. The group wants to use the good reputation and recognition of the Reno brand throughout Germany by renaming 250 of its own shoe branches to Reno branches.
A large portion of the former Reno workforce, approximately 750 employees, lost their jobs as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings. The company justified its bankruptcy with failed attempts at restructuring, which could not be implemented due to weak sales. Despite the takeover and retention of the Reno brand name, numerous jobs and former locations in Germany were lost.
However, the reorganization of the stores under the Reno name does not hide the fact that shoe stores in Germany have had a difficult time since the Corona crisis. According to the Textile Shoes Leather Goods trade association, one in ten shoe stores in Germany had to close in 2022, and more than 500 more stores followed a year later. The head of the association has already announced that further business closures should be expected in 2024.
