Wörhl

Rudolf Wöhrl AG is one of the leading regional fashion retailers in Germany, and has 38 stores trading under various fascias.  Following two successful fee-based projects in the group, Rudolf Wöhrl asked Gordon Brothers to bid for the closure of the loss-making young fashion store Carnaby’s, in Nürnberg.  On the basis of a successful bid, which included an upfront payment and an upside-sharing agreement, Gordon Brothers was appointed to manage the delicate and sensitive closure.

The store, which stocked high-end fashion brands including Giorgio Armani, Versace, Hugo Boss and Roberto Cavalli, occupied four floors of prime retail space in Nürnberg.  Gordon Brothers developed a two-stage strategy for the clearance and closing down events, which were carried out in two phases, over the course of 17 weeks.

Phase one saw the store enter an ‘Everything Must Go’ sale with phase two being the actual ‘Closing Down’ sale itself.  Gordon Brothers placed one of its experienced German consultants in the store to manage the closure and to work alongside local store management.  Concurrently, a Gordon Brothers’ lead consultant maintained an ongoing dialogue with the Wöhrl management team.

Gordon Brothers included additional events within the discount programme, including a special staff friends and family discount day, which contributed to the successful clearance of all remaining stock ahead of schedule.

Ralf Seufert, National Sales Director at Wörhl, said, “We were delighted with the results achieved by Gordon Brothers at Carnaby’s.  The financial and operational guarantee we were given at the start of the project was fully delivered and the clearance was a highly successful project for us.”