Käthe Wohlfahrt KG

GENERAL INFORMATION

Industry:

decoration (christmas)

Employees:

approx. 300

Turnover:

roughly EUR 40 million

Region:

international

Initial situation

Käthe Wohlfahrt KG sells traditional German Christmas decorations, including under the brand „Käthe Wohlfahrt“. The focus of the business activity is therefore particulary on sales in the months before Christmas and on picking goods for the various sales channels beforehand.

Booths of Käthe Wohlfahrt can be found at many Christmas markets. In addition, the company and its subsidiaries operate shops at home and abroad, where customers, especially tourists, the most significant group of customers, can purchase the products throughout the year.

Strong competition has emerged in the market for Christmas decoration, partly due to the entry of online retailers. Käthe Wohlfahrt KG positions its products via its well-known brand as well as upscale character and thus has a unique selling proposition.

The COVID 19 pandemic lead to a massive drop in sales in 2020, in particular due to the sharp decline in the number of tourists. At the end of 2020 the goods had already been prepared and picked, when all Christmas markets were banned in Germany. These missed sales could not be compensated for. In mid-December 2020, the application for insolvency proceedings in self-administration (protective shield proceedings) was filed.

Services

Restrukturierungspartner were commissioned to prepare a feasibility study in which the saleability of the company was examined as one restructuring option.

As part of this review, analyses of the company, the industry and the transaction environment were performed. In addition, discussions with senior executives as well as potential investors were held within the market sounding. In order to enable a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility of a transaction process, an indicative company valuation was prepared.