Clothes make the woman

maconda supports Credit Solutions Partner in financing the carve-out of Hallhuber from the Gerry Weber Group

maconda News August 2019

The British investor Robus Capital Management, which specialised in so-called special situations, acquired a majority stake in the Hallhuber fashion chain in July. Luxembourg-based CSP Investment supported Hallhuber and Robus in the spin-off from the Gerry Weber Group with a customised financing solution. Prior to this, the Cologne-based consultants from maconda, who have many years of experience in the clothing trade, evaluated the market and the positioning of Hallhuber.

Hallhuber is a leading vertically integrated chain store for high-quality, urban women’s fashion with over 400 shops and sales areas. The fashion chain was taken over in 2015 by the Gerry Weber clothing group, which has been in insolvency proceedings in self-administration since January. Hallhuber stands for stylish looks designed for self-confident women with a premium aspiration at a relaxed price. The Munich-based fashion chain wants to strengthen its market position in the so-called “bridge-to-premium” segment.

As part of a focused “Market Review”, maconda primarily evaluated Hallhuber’s current and target market position. This required an in-depth analysis of the dynamics in the relevant market for women’s clothing. Among other things, it was necessary to assess how the mid-price segment and the upper-middle segment continue to develop. Here you find some mainstream brands that often have a weak profile on the one hand and vertical fast fashion suppliers and modern contemporary brands with a clear profile on the other. The maconda consultants, who are very experienced in the fashion segment and in retail, segmented the market in terms of price point, fashion level and target group and placed Hallhuber in the extremely complex competitive landscape.

In addition to the brand position, the online business was also the focus of the work. To verify the opportunities and risks from a market perspective, maconda scrutinised Hallhuber’s online activities. Since the expansion of eCommerce is a central building block of the future strategy after the carve-out, the consultants examined various online KPIs and omnichannel services in a competitive comparison. The goal was to identify the status quo and derive the potential for the future.

About Hallhuber

Hallhuber was founded in Munich in 1977 and offers feminine “ready-to-wear” articles and accessories for fashion-loving women. The assortment is sold in more than 400 shops and retail spaces as well as via the company’s own online platform, primarily in the German-speaking region.

Hallhuber has belonged to the Gerry Weber Group since 2015, which filed for insolvency proceedings in self-administration in January. The Frankfurt and London-based asset management company Robus Capital Management has acquired 88% of Hallhuber, financed by the Luxembourg-based CSP Investment S.à.r.l., which is advised by Credit Solutions Partner GmbH. In doing so, the investor used a purchase option that it had already secured in February. At that time, Robus had provided important bridge financing for Hallhuber. Now the focus is on aligning all of the business segments and processes with the existing, vertical business model and the consistent implementation of the omnichannel strategy.

maconda further expands its expertise in the clothing & textiles sector

The maconda team has dealt intensively with various fashion and retail topics in recent years and successfully carried out several projects – in almost all segments along the value chain and also in many interesting niches, in manufacturing as well as in retail.