Cosmos (electronics trade)
| Cosmos Elektrohandel GmbH
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1975 (as Elektrohandels GmbH & Co KG) 2010 (as Cosmos Elektrohandel GmbH) |
| Seat | Fohnsdorf |
| management | Werner Gruber |
| Branch | Electronics retail |
Cosmos as an electronics retail chain means two different companies based in Vienna and Styria. The Cosmos Electric GmbH & Co KG was an Austrian electronics store chain which branches had in department stores and shopping centers in every province of Austria and had to file for bankruptcy in 2010 year. In the same year, Cosmos RW Elektrohandel GmbH bought the rights to the name and logo and opened three branches.
The range of electronics retailers, originally founded in 1975, includes telecommunications, photography, computers, hi-fi, games, DVDs, CDs, televisions and accessories. Household appliances were already represented in the range back then, but now the aim is to focus more on this product area.
history
In 1996 the chain was sold to the electrical trading company Köck, which at the time belonged to the asset management company Kapital & Wert founded by Francis Lustig. The shares in Cosmos-Köck were later taken over by BAWAG , which at that time also owned some of the department stores in which Cosmos branches were established. After the BAWAG affair and the high losses that BAWAG had made with risky banking business became known, the bank had to part with many investments that were not in the range of its core business. Cosmos was sold to VMS Restructuring and Beteiligungs GmbH & Co KG in 2006. Together with the electronics retail chain Niedermeyer , which had been part of VMS since 2004, Cosmos was incorporated into a holding company , but continued to form an independent chain of branches. However, a head office with a common central warehouse was set up in Vienna- Liesing . This created the largest electrical retail group in Austria with a market volume of 3.1 billion euros.
In 2008 sales (excluding the independent Niedermeyer branches) amounted to 267 million euros, but losses of 11 million euros were posted. Therefore, from 2009 the two retail chains increasingly went their separate ways and new investors were sought. Cosmos was sold to the Stauder brothers from Tyrol. The planned entry of the Turkish ESAS Holding into Cosmos failed.
insolvency
After the overindebtedness of the company with 35 million euros became known in January 2010, the termination of 200 employees and the registration of compulsory compensation at the Commercial Court of Vienna were announced. Interim financing for new deliveries during the settlement procedure was sought.
After the settlement proceedings failed, bankruptcy had to be declared on February 17, 2010 . At the time of filing for bankruptcy, Cosmos had a total of 1,160 employees in 27 locations.
On March 6, 2010, 16 of the remaining 17 branches closed. Only the branch in Brunn am Gebirge remained open until April 17, 2010 for a total sale of the remaining goods.
In the course of an audit meeting on April 21, 2010, 1509 creditors, including 1156 affected former employees, registered claims totaling 71 million euros. Claims for damages have also been filed by the Cosmos owners, the Tyrolean Stauder brothers. For the EUR 18.5 million debts of the Cosmos trading company, which had already been transferred to the Slovakian company Nove-K of the two brothers at the end of 2009, they have made claims in the amount of EUR 13.8 million against the bankruptcy estate. After all, the trustee only recognized a total of 17.3 million euros, for which only a low rate of disbursements was promised.
New opening
In July 2010 it became known that the naming rights to Cosmos had been taken over by a Styrian investor group for € 50,000. The new company has nothing in common with Cosmos Elektrohandels GmbH & Co KG, except for the name and the identical logo except for the new subtitle, which is why the old vouchers and warranty extensions cannot be redeemed. Specialist stores have already been opened in Fohnsdorf and Leibnitz in Styria. In November 2011 the first location outside of Styria opened, the branch is in Mattersburg . In the medium term, 15 locations are to be opened throughout Austria.
occasion
The current managing director of the company sees the main reason for the revitalization of the electrical retail chain in the fact that there are some shopping centers that would have to do without electrical retailers. In addition, you need an electronics retailer who covers niches. Outside of Vienna, the bankruptcy passed by the people, the brand is still well known. But this time, they don't want to rely on the cheap concept. One tries rather to move towards Saturn. They want to concentrate more on so-called white goods, i.e. household appliances.
Branches
Since April 2016 there have been no more 2 independent companies, in the course of the merger of Fohnsdorf and Mattersburg, the company name of RW was also changed to Cosmos Elektrohandel GmbH.
- Cosmos Elektrohandel GmbH: Headquarters in the Fohnsdorf arena
- Cosmos Elektrohandel GmbH: Headquarters in the Arena Mattersburg
In Fohnsdorf and Mattersburg, all processes are coordinated and prepared in the best possible and uniform manner. District cities with a large catchment area are particularly interesting as locations; large cities like Vienna are not currently being considered.
Design & Marketing
The logo has remained unchanged except for a different shade of yellow and a different slogan. Compared to the old Cosmos electronic chain, they rely more on social networks such as Facebook ; For the time being, they want to do without television advertising altogether.
Web links
- Homepage of the newly opened Cosmos RW Elektrohandel GmbH
Individual evidence
- ↑ Compensation: Cosmos leaves 200 employees at ORF Vienna on January 29, 2010
- ↑ The standard : Cosmos bankruptcy is fixed (accessed on February 18, 2010)
- ↑ Cosmos closes all branches at derstandard.at on March 6, 2010
- ↑ Total sale in the Brunn am Gebirge store on Cosmos.at on March 6, 2010
- ↑ 75 million claim to Cosmos ORF.at from April 19, 2010
- ^ Only mini-quota for creditors Standard.at of April 21, 2010
- ↑ Homepage of the new company Cosmos - Welcome to the exciting world of electronics!
- ↑ Logo on Facebook
- ↑ Retail: Cosmos dares to restart «DiePresse.com
- ↑ Retail: Cosmos dares to restart «DiePresse.com