Kika/Leiner: After 115 years, the furniture icon faces the end!

Kika/Leiner: After 115 years, the furniture icon faces the end!

A dramatic chapter in the Austrian furniture industry closes: With the bankruptcy of Kika/Leiner, the history of a once flourishing company ends after 115 years. Mayor Matthias Stadler emphasized that this was an example of "how to drive a flourishing company on the wall". The foundation stone for the furniture giant was in 1910 by Rudolf Leiner sen. Laid, which at that time took over a small bedding shop at Rathausplatz in St. Pölten and gradually expanded it.

The descent of the once second largest furniture retailer in Austria began with numerous changes of ownership and failed renovation attempts. Ultimately, this downward spiral led to insolvency on November 12, 2024 and on December 4, 2024 to the final bankruptcy registration. The company's history has learned numerous twists in recent years-the takeover by the South African Steinhoff Group, the sale to the Tyrolean billionaire René Benko and finally the bankruptcy team around Hermann Wieser, which took over the operational management. According to Kleine Zeitung have repeatedly reduced branches and mass dislocation from 7500 to around 1350 employees who are expected to lose their jobs.

a company in free fall

The past few years have been shaped by a steady decline, which was also characterized by a falling sales volume. This fell by 13 percent in the first half of 2024. The hope of a renovation also turned out to be an illusion: After unsuccessful investor searches and the withdrawal of the original renovation plan, the remaining 17 branches of inevitable closure face each other. The tragedy of the situation is not only reflected in the loss of jobs, but also in the painful end of a traditional brand, for which many customers were loyal to generations, such as Noen reported.