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From Ulrich Wolf
Dänischenhagen/Kiel/Dresden. The largest German chain for portrait photography, the Studioline Photostudios GmbHbased in Dänischenhagen, Schleswig-Holstein, has filed for insolvency. This affects 75 subsidiaries that operate their own studios. Ten of these are located in Saxony: Studioline is represented three times each in Dresden (in the Altmarkt and Centrum-Galerie and in Elbepark), in Leipzig and once in Chemnitz.
The competent local court in Kiel appointed restructuring specialist Reinhold Schmid-Sperber as provisional administrator of the company. According to him, business operations will continue "without restriction". All photo appointments that have already been reserved can be kept. The salaries of around 500 employees are secured up to and including September 2024. With around 50 trainees, the Studioline Group is the largest trainer in the German photographic trade.
One reason for insolvency: fewer customers in shopping centers
The background to the corporate crisis is the general reluctance of customers to spend as a result of inflation, lower customer traffic in the shopping centers and the increased costs of the studios due to rent increases. In addition, the long-term plans to open new stores had put a strain on liquidity. The company's roots go back to 1910.
Schmid-Sperber said the trade magazine InDathe is confident of finding a solution for the long-established company. "Most of the group's photo studios are operating profitably." He sees "a long-term perspective for the employees", said the provisional administrator.
