Kika/Leiner Bankruptcy Proceedings: 265 Million Euros in Claims Registered

The current claims include conditional damage claims from the landlord amounting to 190 million euros, according to the creditor protection association Creditreform on Friday after the creditors' meeting in St. Pölten. By the end of January, the 17 remaining stores of the bankrupt furniture chain Kika/Leiner are expected to finally close.

Immediate Closure of Kika/Leiner Would Have Been Disadvantageous for Creditors

The main cause of insolvency is considered to be a 20 percent drop in sales below the planned target. "By February, the question of when insolvency actually occurred should be clarified," explained Creditreform insolvency expert Stephan Mazal. He called on all creditors who missed the registration deadline on January 10 to "quickly" submit their claims. Late registrations will be "as far as possible" still considered by the administrator for the next day's session on February 21. The debtor company is currently still being continued, as an immediate closure would have had a massive disadvantageous effect on the affected insolvency creditors, as explained by the credit protection association KSV1870. Only by continuing the company can a structured sale of the existing goods be guaranteed. This is currently taking place in all of the remaining Kika/Leiner branches.

According to the information available to the credit protection association, the insolvency administrator plans to end the sale on January 31. The remaining stock is then to be sold to exploitation companies. It can be assumed that the branches will have to close promptly after the sale has ended. "In principle, the insolvency administrator reported that the sale worked very well and that the branches can now actually be closed at the end of January," said insolvency expert Karl-Heinz Götze from KSV1870 on Friday in the ORF's "Mittagsjournal". As part of the continuation, numerous contracts concluded with deposit creditors have been and are currently being checked by the insolvency administrator. The checks are very time-consuming and have therefore not yet been completed and finally processed.

After Kika/Leiner Insolvency: A Third of Customers Initially Get No Money Back

About 14,000 deposits had to be looked at, "so it's quite extensive," Götze emphasized. According to KSV1870, around 3,000 customers who have made a deposit have already received their money back, as their deposit was particularly secured. About 4,700 therefore get no money back and have to register their claims in the insolvency proceedings. Another approximately 7,000 depositors are trying to partially compensate. "Since the case is so complex, further claims can be registered despite the deadline," Götze said in the radio report. A total sum can therefore not yet be estimated.

The insolvency administrator also reports that the lease agreements concluded between the debtor company and the Supernova Group have been terminated. Due to the early termination, high claims for damages can therefore be expected. "The exact amount of these will have to be carefully examined by the insolvency administrator in the insolvency proceedings." Götze said. Other focal points of the insolvency administrator's work in the coming months will be the processing of business conduct in the run-up to the insolvency proceedings, the examination of possible contestation claims, and the examination of the causes that led to the new opening of insolvency.

Furniture Chain Kika/Leiner in Crisis for Years

The furniture chain has been in crisis for several years, with three changes of ownership since 2013. In 2023, the now also insolvent real estate group Signa from René Benko sold the Kika/Leiner properties to the Graz-based Supernova and the operational furniture business to retail manager Hermann Wieser. Shortly thereafter, Kika/Leiner filed for insolvency, 23 out of 40 branches were closed during the first restructuring. After the second insolvency in November 2024, Wieser could not raise fresh financial resources or find an investor. Due to the bankruptcy, 1,350 employees will lose their jobs. In Lower Austria, where about 550 employees live, a job foundation has been set up for this reason, which is supposed to help the staff with placement and further training. It is still open what quota the creditors will receive in the course of the bankruptcy proceedings.

(APA/Red)

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