Basler shows there can be life after liquidation

The transition of a global high-end women’s fashion chain based in Germany from a debtor-in-possession restructuring, through liquidation and then into new ownership around the world illustrates the rapidly changing face of retail.

So says Dr Maximilian Pluta, a restructuring partner with PLUTA whose team supported Basler’s management throughout the process.

Basler was founded in 1936 to manufacture up-market women’s jackets and coats, and grew into a global group headquartered in Goldbach, Germany, with operations eventually in France, Romania, the UK, the US and Australia.

It also expanded into wholesaling and retailing, and opened its first standalone store in 1997 in Hamburg. It opened its first in London ten years later.

At its peak, the Basler group employed over 1,100 people worldwide in 50 own-brand stores, 80 concessions and 13 outlets. But in 2017 revenue had fallen to 120 million euro from 200 million euro the year before. The writing was on the wall.

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Pluta were able to instruct a number of BTG Global Advisory firms to assist on this case.

France
The biggest part of Basler’s restructuring and wind-down was handled in France by Zalis, led by turnaround head John Lloyd, who acted as CRO.

UK
BTG Advisory, led by Nigel Atkinson, initially supported Basler’s management during the restructuring.

USA
GlassRatner, dealt with the restructuring in an out of court process, led by co-founder Ian Ratner, together with Jim Fox in New York.

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