Equipment: Insolvency proceedings opened against A. W. Niemeyer +++ Update No. 2 +++
Pascal Schürmann
· 24.01.2023
Update from 24. 1. 2023, 3.45 pm:
Now there is also a statement from the provisional insolvency administrator, lawyer Stefan Denkhaus. Together with Managing Director Christoph Steinkuhl, he has informed the 115 employees about the proceedings that have begun.
Denkhaus says: "Together with my team and the management, we will first stabilise business operations. It can usually be a bit of a jolt in the first two weeks. But our aim is to reorganise the company by means of a structured investor process. I am optimistic that we will succeed due to the great interest already shown by investors."
AWN Managing Director Christoph Steinkuhl explains the background to the insolvency filing: "Due to several coronavirus lockdowns and supply bottlenecks, many items that were in demand were only available to our customers after the end of the season. The situation was aggravated by the effects of the war in Ukraine, in particular the considerable reluctance to buy due to inflation, general uncertainty and the omnipresent cost increases. At the same time, we have felt a reluctance to buy due to rising costs and inflation. At the same time, the effects of higher procurement costs have also made themselves felt. Together with my team, I hope that our customers and friends of water sports will remain loyal to us."
The company's business operations will continue as usual. The salaries of the employees will be secured for three months, i.e. up to and including March 2023, by means of pre-financing of insolvency benefits that has already been initiated. For the period thereafter, it is envisaged that the company will be able to pay salaries itself again during the insolvency proceedings, according to the statement just published.
Update from 24 January 2023, 1.40 pm:
AWN's majority shareholder Christoph Kroschke has now issued a statement. When asked about the main reasons for AWN's financial plight and why the company was apparently unable to benefit sufficiently from the recent boom in the water sports industry, Nicole Neumann, Head of Marketing at Christoph Kroschke GmbH, said: "The coronavirus-related shop closures in two pandemic years had a significant negative impact on earnings. AWN was not granted any state aid beyond the short-time working allowance. Unfortunately, the economic environment for AWN deteriorated further in the course of 2022 following the coronavirus crisis. Cost increases, particularly in energy costs and merchandise, the war in Ukraine, delivery problems on the part of business partners and concerns about inflation and customers' reluctance to buy had a considerable financial impact on AWN."
On the future of AWN, Nicole Neumann says: "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."
Anyone who wanted to shop for oilskins, fenders, ropes, fittings or other boating supplies at the headquarters of A. W. Niemeyer GmbH or at one of the nine branches in Hamburg today was sometimes faced with closed doors. However, those who wanted to order goods online or by telephone had the opportunity to do so - at least until shortly before midday.
Most of the branches could not be reached by telephone in the past few hours. According to an AWN employee, more will only be known after the conclusion of a staff meeting taking place today. She currently assumes that the shop will reopen in the afternoon.
Yesterday, Monday, the local court in Hamburg-Altona provided the reason for the unclear situation at AWN. According to the court, the company, which was founded in 1745, is apparently in financial difficulties. Insolvency proceedings have been opened under file number 67a IN 20/23. Lawyer Stefan Denkhaus, partner at the Hamburg law firm BRL - Böge, Rohde, Lübbehüsen, has been appointed provisional insolvency administrator.
The notice states, among other things: "The debtors of the debtor (third-party debtors) are prohibited from making payments to the debtor. The provisional insolvency administrator is authorised to collect bank balances and other claims of the debtor and to accept incoming funds. The third-party debtors are requested to make payments only in compliance with this order (section 23 (1) sentence 3 InsO)."
Neither AWN managing director Christoph Steinkuhl nor the main shareholder, the Ahrensburg-based Kroschke Group, have yet issued a statement; telephone and written enquiries from the YACHT editorial team have gone unanswered. The insolvency administrator was also unavailable this morning.
Many customers who have ordered and paid for goods from AWN in the past few days will now be wondering whether they will still receive their order or whether their payment will be refunded - or whether they will end up empty-handed. An AWN employee on the telephone order acceptance line assured customers this morning that they need not worry. Ordered goods would be dispatched as usual, and new orders would also continue to be accepted and processed. However, only the insolvency administrator can currently make a reliable statement about business operations.
It is not known why the company got into financial difficulties and when the application for insolvency was filed. AWN, which claims to be the "undisputed market leader among yacht and boat outfitters", is not present at the current boot in Düsseldorf - to the surprise of many trade fair visitors. However, other well-known exhibitors have also decided not to exhibit in Düsseldorf this year.
The fact that the branch and mail-order business could continue as normal is at least indicated by the fact that the catalogue for the new season has just been sent out. AWN customers have been receiving it for a few days now; AWN recently proudly announced the printing and dispatch of the new catalogue on Facebook.
Furthermore, AWN Managing Director Steinkuhl only acquired a stake in the company himself at the beginning of last year. Even if the majority of the company shares remained with Christoph Kroschke, one would assume that Steinkuhl was aware of the earnings situation and would not have plunged into a financial risk without need.
In the best case scenario, customers will not notice the insolvency. Be it that it can be averted. It could be that AWN is sold in whole or in part to another company and continued by that company. Only in the worst-case scenario, if the insolvency administrator sees no chance of a rescue, would the industry giant be threatened with extinction.
A. W. Niemeyer is the first major equipment dealer to be affected. Previously, it was mainly shipyards that had got into financial difficulties and made the headlines accordingly. Most of them were eventually able to carry on, albeit in different ways. Examples from recent years:
