Closed Enters Fresh Chapter: Acquisition Gets Green Light with Ex-Tommy Hilfiger Leader as CEO

Closed opens a new chapter. After the German denim specialist company hit a bump in the road in mid-summer, when it filed for the equivalent of insolvency proceedings in Germany, the company is embarking on a new phase in the hands of the family that owns Marc O’Polo and entrepreneur Dieter Holzer.

Confirming information that was released earlier this month, the German media TextilWirtschaft has announced that the acquisition by the Böck family has received the green light from the Bundeskartellamt, the German competition authority. The company now officially holds 74.9% of the capital, while Holzer will take the remaining 25.1%.

“We understand the fashion industry and the dynamics of premium brands,“ explains Maximilian Böck, “and we are delighted to be part of a project with such entrepreneurial commitment, while confident that we can contribute to securing a future for Closed. The deal provides continuity for the company’s 330 employees in the country, which will remain headquartered in Hamburg, although the final store network has not been disclosed.

Closed will be managed by Dieter Holzer, who has taken a 25.1% stake in the company

Along with the green light to the transaction, which ensures the operational continuity of the company, Closed faces this new stage with a new CEO, Holzer himself. The businessman, in addition to being at the helm of Marc O’Polo for more than eight years, has forged his career in the sector in other giants such as Tommy Hilfiger, as global director of the online business, and Esprit, where he was in charge of the wholesale business in Europe.

“Closed is an iconic, authentic brand that still inspires consumers around the world, and together with Gordon Tiers and Til Nadler, as well as the rest of the management team, we are eager to take the company further,“ he said. Tiers and Nadler, CEOs of Closed to date, will thus remain in the day-to-day running of the company.

Founded in 1978 by Frenchmen Marithé and François Girbaud, Closed was taken over by German entrepreneurs Günther Giers and Hans Leplow in the 1990s. Later, in 2001, the company was taken over by Giers’ son Gordon and his fellow students Til Nadler and Hans Redlefsen. In its last fiscal year, the company closed the period with a turnover of 120 million euros, and is present in 68 countries.Forty percent of its sales are concentrated in the wholesale channel, compared to 25% from the online business and the remaining 35%, which is channeled through its own stores and outlets, including a store in Palma de Mallorca.