VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - The ailing fashion company Gerry Weber has also filed for insolvency in Austria. As the Westphalian clothing manufacturer announced in Halle on Friday, bankruptcy proceedings are expected to be opened within a few days on the Austrian subsidiary Gerry Weber GmbH, based in Vienna. In addition, the 19 Gerry Weber stores in the Alpine country are to be closed. This would eliminate about 75 full-time jobs, it said. In the future, the company intends to focus on its wholesale business in Austria, just as it does in Germany.

In Germany, Gerry Weber had announced in June that it would close 122 of its 171 company-owned stores and outlets by the end of September as part of its restructuring efforts. In April, Gerry Weber International AG had applied to the Essen District Court to initiate restructuring proceedings under the German Act on the Stabilization and Restructuring Framework for Companies (StaRUG).

Insolvency proceedings were opened at the end of June in respect of Gerry Weber Retail GmbH, in which the German store business is bundled. Just over three years ago, Gerry Weber had to be saved from bankruptcy with the help of insolvency proceedings./al/DP/stw