Hope for the long-established water sports outfitter A. W. Niemeyer, which is in financial difficulties: the Hamburg-based company could find a new owner as early as the beginning of April. In January, AWN surprisingly for many in the industry filed an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings at the Hamburg district court.The future of the store and online retailer seemed uncertain.
But now the news is: "AWN is doing quite well." This is what the provisional insolvency administrator appointed by the court, lawyer Stefan Denkhaus from the Hamburg law firm Böge, Rohde, Lübbehüsen, told YACHT. More than half a dozen interested parties, both from within and outside the industry, had expressed their desire to take over the company in an initial exploratory round.
It is not yet clear how many of these will remain. However, the potential buyers will be required to submit concrete offers in the next round, which is due to be finalised in March, at the latest. "I am confident that in the end at least one, if not several, interested parties will be found who will present a viable concept for the continuation of AWN that meets with the approval of the creditors' committee," Denkhaus continued.
Traditional retail shop or Internet mail order company- or both? The future course is still unclear
The lawyer was unable to say whether the existing AWN branch network will be retained in its current form or even expanded further, or whether online retail will clearly take centre stage in the future. The strategic direction of the company is in the hands of the new owner. "In recent weeks, the day-to-day business has prioritised stocking the shops with the available liquidity. We have succeeded. We were able to secure the support of numerous suppliers," said Denkhaus.
Nevertheless, the originally planned opening of further shops has been stopped for the time being. This is a matter for the buyer, as is the question of whether one of the existing AWN shareholders will remain on board. And if so, in what form.
The water sports outfitter is majority-owned by the Kroschke Group, which specialises in car and road signs. Its owner, Christoph Kroschke, announced after the insolvency proceedings were announced in January: "We hope that the consequences for employees, customers and business partners can be minimised and that a way can be found to continue the company in a new structure and with new financial resources." That didn't sound as if the company was interested in a further stake in AWN.
For suppliers and also for the 115 employees, it will probably be more exciting to see whether Christoph Steinkuhl remains with the company. He has been Managing Director since the end of 2019 and has also held shares of an unknown amount in AWN for just over a year. His contract, which was due to expire in October 2022, had already been extended by five years at the end of 2021.
Steinkuhl has initiated a lot in recent years, both in terms of the traditional shop business and in e-commerce. Nevertheless, insiders report that the AWN online shop in particular is not competitive in its current form compared to its competitors. AWN is obviously aware of this. The company has recently strengthened its e-commerce expertise.
Four AWN shareholders, one managing director: who stays on board, who leaves?
In addition to Kroschke and Steinkuhl, other AWN shareholders are Wolfgang Schlaak and Stephan Swinka. While Schlaak is an investor specialising in corporate investments, Swinka is a consumer goods and retail expert. Among other things, he was a board member at Tchibo and CEO at Ernstings Family and Takko. It is unclear to what extent he will be able to contribute his expertise to AWN in the future. Ultimately, this will also depend on the new owner.
The new owner will only have to pay the purchase price for AWN, but will not assume any financial liabilities as a result of the insolvency takeover. AWN's books contain around five million euros in bank debts and around 1.3 million euros in trade payables. The quota the creditors will receive and the portion of their claims they will waive depends on the purchase price, particularly for the inventory and the AWN brand. "This is an order of magnitude that a strong investor can certainly manage," says an optimistic Stefan Denkhaus.
The most important thing is probably that customers remain loyal to the supplier or that buyers who have moved to the competition return. Not an easy endeavour in times of rising prices everywhere and a correspondingly increasing reluctance to buy.
"Spring awakening" in all AWN branches at the end of March
In order to whet people's appetite for water sports again and to strengthen or re-establish customer loyalty, AWN is therefore continuing to organise its own trade fair despite the insolvency proceedings. Instead of the "Hamburg Boat Show by AWN", which took place last year and met with lively public interest, this time there will be - nomen est omen - a "spring awakening". And not just at the company headquarters on Holstenkamp in Hamburg, but in all seven branches in Germany and Austria.
Together with numerous water sports brands, including Gill, Helly Hansen, Musto, Secumar, Torqeedo, OceanBay New and Used Boats, Yachticon, International and Liqui Moly, the aim is to present visitors with a large selection of new and tried-and-tested products for the start of the season from 23 to 25 March. AWN Managing Director Christoph Steinkuhl says:
We know that water sports enthusiasts are looking forward to finally starting the new season with their boats and yachts perfectly equipped. That's why we want to bring this feeling into our shops with our 'Spring Awakening'."
