June 2021, the beginning of the end: Vögele Shoes was sold to Germany, a year later Christian Müller from Hannover (Germany) filed for bankruptcy against Vögele Shoes. In a few days the traditional Uznach company will cease its operations completely and the Vögele brand will disappear from the Swiss shopping streets. The opposite of entrepreneur Christian Müller.
Known as a renovation specialist, the German has a presence in Switzerland through his company CM.Solutions GmbH. Reno shoe retail chain, which has 253 branches in Germany and Austria since September 2022, is also part of the company network, currently chairman of the board of Vögele Shoes. The other 17 Reno stores are located in German-speaking Switzerland from Lake Constance to Thun.
Is Reno also deep in the shoe crisis?
Spicy detail: the shoe chain is said to be in a crisis like Vogele before. The water in the cash register is running low. According to German media reports such as “Wirtschaftswoche”, the sale to the new owner Müller avoids radical solutions that lead to bankruptcy.
Swiss employees Blick spoke to are already asking themselves, “How is Reno doing in Switzerland?” he asks. As the research shows, the question is justified. The sacked Vogele Shoes employees reported that advertising materials such as sales and closing posters that had previously been used at Vögele were sent to their Reno branch. Some were already hanging there.
Game with short-term closures
For example, in Reno at Stadtmarkt in Wil SG. Banners with “We’re closing” and “Wholesale” scare customers. The branch was actually closed for a week. But the Reno has been selling there again since Dec.
Same game in Bülach and Dietlikon in Zurich Unterland. Total sales, short closing, new kinds of shoes. As with Wil, it’s a clever move by Reno bosses to get rid of old items and clear the range.
Interesting: This is exactly the same model as at Vögele Shoes in the last twelve months: buy branches, post wholesale, close branches and reopen soon with a new range of products. At Vögele Shoes with a known result. In Reno next year?
Reno boss promises comeback
Dieter Metz answered Blick’s questions in Reno. Since October 1, he is the managing director of CM.Sports GmbH, which owns all Reno branches and the online store. Metz confirms that his company is owned by Christian Müller’s CM.Solutions GmbH. “Reno is not at risk of bankruptcy,” Metz tells Blick. The company is a traditional, solid brand with loyal customers. “We now want to implement a carefully thought-out omnichannel strategy,” says Metz. The goal is to lead Reno to a “sustainably profitable future”.
Memories revived: Von Müller said the same thing when his company took over Vögele Shoes. What Reno employees approve of, but Reno boss Metz rejects: the use of Vögele sales materials on the Reno covers. “Branch closures are always short-term for a few days to prepare systems and new product lines,” says Metz.
This is not a restructuring as the industry calls it, but an “organic transformation and careful further development of Reno”. Metz: “Give us the time we need for this.”
But the clock is ticking. Superficially, everything is clear from the Reno boss. But the similarities with Vögele Shoes are obvious and do not bode well.