The German kitchen manufacturer Poggenpohl does not survive the corona crisis and has to file for bankruptcy. Chinese investors do not miss the offer and buy the traditional Herford company. The takeover comes unexpectedly because another deal already seemed certain.
Surprising turning point in the struggle for survival of the kitchen manufacturer Poggenpohl: The luxury brand, which filed for bankruptcy in the wake of the corona pandemic, comes into Chinese hands. The sanitary and kitchen fitting manufacturer Jomoo from Xiamen becomes the new owner of the traditional German company, Poggenpohl insolvency administrator Manuel Sack reported.
Sack emphasized that Jomoo is committed to the Poggenpohl production site in Herford and will take on a large proportion of its employees. The premium kitchen manufacturer most recently employed 270 people. Sack made no statements regarding the purchase price.
The announcement of the takeover by Jomoo came as a surprise. In mid-June, Sack presented the British premium kitchen provider Lux Group together with the German entrepreneurial family Wolf as a Poggenpohl buyer. But in the end, the purchase "did not materialize", it said without further details in the declaration of the insolvency administrator.
Hit hard by the crisis
The sale to Jomoo is still subject to a number of conditions precedent. But Sack is expected to meet them in the next few weeks. Poggenpohl had to file for bankruptcy proceedings in April due to the significant drop in orders and sales since the outbreak of the corona pandemic. The pandemic hit the company in the middle of the ongoing restructuring.
Poggenpohl managing director Gernot Mang, who will continue to manage the company, emphasized that combining the know-how of the German kitchen specialist and Asian bathroom experts could result in new business areas for Poggenpohl – for example in international project business. "Interesting synergies between the kitchen and bathroom areas will be possible there, because in the future we can offer project developers a one-stop design for both rooms," he said. At the same time, Poggenpohl will advance further into the area of luxury kitchens and increase the number of kitchens produced in Herford.
Xiaowei Lin, Managing Director of Jomoo Germany, explained that it is essential for Jomoo's long-term, sustainable market and product strategy to cover the top and premium segment. That is why Poggenpohl fits well into the company's future plans.
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