Bankruptcy petition filed

Bankrupt! Now four bookshops are threatened with closure

The company, managed by Melanie Hofinger, filed for insolvency on Wednesday.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

At the age of 25, Melanie Hofinger became an entrepreneur when she took over the former Veritas bookshop in Harrachstraße in Linz. On Wednesday, a bankruptcy petition was filed for the four companies belonging to her business.

Bankruptcy proceedings were filed for the assets of Buchhandlung W. Neugebauer GmbH, Melanie Hofinger GmbH, Spieleparadies Handels mbH and Meritas Holding GmbH, according to an announcement by Kreditschutzverband 1870 on Wednesday afternoon.

This means that Melanie Hofinger's book and toy businesses are insolvent. A dark chapter for the Upper Austrian, who had made a name for herself in recent years with her innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. At the age of 25, she took over the former Veritas bookshop in Harrachstraße in Linz because it would otherwise have been closed. Gradually, more stores were added: in addition to the main location, there were up to five branches at the peak, in Linz, Mauthausen, Lambach and Eferding.

Increased costs, problems with bookkeeping
The reasons for the insolvency? A sharp rise in costs for interest, staff and rent, as well as strong competition from online retailers. There were also difficulties with the bookkeeping, as Creditreform reveals. These led to the separation from the tax consultant. 

Continued operation "not economically viable"
While only four stores were still in operation, it now appears that they can no longer be saved. In the bankruptcy petition, it is expressly emphasized that the closure of the companies is intended. "Anything else makes no economic sense - neither from a perspective nor from a financial point of view," says lawyer Eva Meusburger, who filed the insolvency petitions.

26 employees affected
According to Creditreform, a total of 26 employees and around 580 creditors are affected by the insolvency. Liabilities are estimated at around 2.8 million euros, while assets are said to amount to 2.4 million euros.