Oviesse Kaufhalle

Italian parent company Gruppo Coin decided to withdraw its three-fascia presence; Oviesse, Kaufhalle and Multistore, in its German market.  This activity was constrained by a combination of real estate and trading law issues associated with closing down sales at that time.  Gordon Brothers was appointed to design and implement an operational plan to close 76-stores in Germany. 

Gordon Brothers implemented a sensitive stock clearance merchandising policy for Oviesse that protected the brand, enabling it to continue to trade throughout Europe, primarily in Italy. 

Together, Gordon Brothers and Oviesse Kaufhalle devised innovative solutions, involving a media and in-store marketing programme which not only communicated the stock clearance message but also successfully complied with the complex and prohibitive German trading laws associated with a country closedown. 

Working in partnership with the existing German Store and Field Management teams, Gordon Brothers tailored and executed the retail clearance programmewhich allowed for existing seasonal stock intake commitments.  Gordon Brothers provided security during this process through a guaranteed financial return (in excess of the Client’s expectations) that included a significant advance payment.

Franz Hilburger, COO, Oviesse Kaufhalle said: “Together with our Italian parent company, we agreed to do a major re-structure of our German business, which resulted in the decision to close 76 of our 93 stores. Our task was enormous, since we agreed with the landlords and the Workers’ Council to close and exit the stores in less than three months. It was an unbelievably tough situation and on top of it we had very high levels of stock still in the stores and in our supply chain. Delivering the stores ‘broom-clean’ in such a short time seemed like ‘mission impossible’.”

“Gordon Brothers was clearly a specialist in this area, but what really clinched the deal was their results guarantee. We were assured that together we would achieve better results than working alone. The project was a big success because we met the critical deadlines. We had to change our requirements and schedule a few times and we also had some surprises with the level of inventory, but our joint teams were able to adjust quickly and in the end all the stores were closed on time. We also met our contractual obligations, which was our first priority. Both Oviesse’s and Gordon Brothers’ management stayed focused on achieving the results we projected, and so we were thrilled when we exceeded our financial goals for the project. This was a very nice bonus!”