Owner retreat

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The Humanic Group has been undergoing restructuring for years in order to remain profitable. Now the owner family has withdrawn.(Bild: Jürgen Radspieler)

A bang in the retail sector: Leder & Schuh AG with its main brand Humanic is being sold to the Slovenian investor Advance Capital. However, the headquarters for the 210 stores with 1700 employees will remain at the company's headquarters in Graz. Humanic has been struggling for years with weaker consumption and competition from online retailers.

Advance Capital Partners and the Slovenian retailer Mass have reached an agreement with the owners of Leder & Schuh, the Mayer-Rieckh family, on the acquisition of the Austrian shoe company. One of Europe's oldest shoe retailers operates 210 Humanic and Shoe4You stores in nine countries, employs over 1700 people and recently increased its turnover from 367 to 371 million euros. There were even some new stores opened.

Following approval by the relevant competition authorities, Leder & Schuh will become part of the Mass Group, but will remain an independently operating company with its headquarters in Graz. The combined group, with a turnover of more than 400 million euros, 290 brick-and-mortar and ten online stores and over 2,300 employees, will be one of the ten largest shoe retailers in Europe. If the competition authorities approve, the deal will be finalized in the first half of 2026.

The Humanic Group has been undergoing restructuring for years in order to remain profitable.(Bild: Jürgen Radspieler)

"Our goal is to make the shoe retail business fit for the future and create a stable basis for sustainable growth. With Mass, we are gaining a strong and experienced partner who shares our vision, while Advance Capital Partners offers us the financial stability that is crucial for our further development. I am very much looking forward to going down this path together and giving new impetus to the industry," explained Humanic CEO Armin Weger.

8.6 million euro balance sheet loss, only group in the black
With its two retail brands Humanic and Shoe4You, Leder & Schuh had established itself in the mid-price segment of the market for shoes and fashion accessories and is represented in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. However, the company is heavily indebted; in 2024, the Graz-based company posted a net loss of 8.6 million euros in its separate financial statements according to the company register. Previous years were also similarly in the red. Only the entire group, which is now being sold, recorded a profit. The Mayer-Rieckh family's owner company MRHG accumulated even higher losses. Part of the shares have therefore been pledged to a London financier for years.

"60 new branches in five years"
According to Saso Apostolovski, founder and CEO of Mass, the combined group plans to "open around 60 new stores in the next five years". In addition, the Humanic, Shoe4You and Mass brands as well as the Skechers retail network are to be maintained and further developed.

"Mass and Leder & Schuh are natural partners that complement each other perfectly, both geographically and strategically. The partnership will further accelerate the implementation of our growth strategy and we plan to further expand and develop all our brands in the coming years. Our goal is clear: we want to become the leading omnichannel retailer for shoes and fashion accessories in Central and Eastern Europe," says Apostolovski. The integration into the Mass Group should also create new career opportunities for the employees of Leder & Schuh.

"Refinance all existing bank loans"
"The partnership between two companies with strong traditions and shared ambitions will create a true footwear retail giant in Central and Eastern Europe. The enlarged Mass Group, majority-owned by Advance Capital Partners, will operate in nine markets with a total population of around 150 million and is expected to generate annual sales of over 500 million euros by 2029. As part of the transaction, we will also refinance all existing bank loans of the Austrian group, which will provide the company with a solid basis for long-term financial stability and create the conditions for further growth," adds Ales Sklerak from investor Advance Capital Partners.