Luxury TV manufacturer Loewe is throwing in the towel. The company is set to cease operations from July 1, with increased competition leading to insufficient funds for the business.
The sad demise of the German brand was reported in Spiegel Online , where the company announced its plans to wind down the business this weekend.
"For reasons of insolvency law, we are therefore obligated to protect our creditors to provisionally suspend operations on 1 July 2019 with the least possible cost burden," said Loewe's managing director Ralf Vogt.
High end TVs, Far East woes
Loewe has had a rough ride for quite a few years now, positioning itself in the high-end area of the market in an attempt to make its wares distinct from the masses of products coming out of Asia. But with the paper-thin margins of the TV market, Loewe simply could not compete with the volume of competition it faced.
Speaking to our stablemates at What Hi-Fi?, Loewe offered the following statement:
"Earlier this week on the 25th June Loewe announced to the Germany press that the insolvency process has been escalated, with the management deciding to move from self-administration to standard insolvency proceedings. Whilst Loewe had the support of its suppliers, distribution partners and customers it was unable to secure a loan required by its main creditors. As a result of the insolvency proceedings, Loewe will suspend business operations in Kronach provisionally from 1st July.
"Negotiations with potential investors continue apace with renewed impetus due to the reduction in liabilities a new investor would now incur. Plans are being put in place so that Loewe can continue to supply the majority of products to dealers in order to bridge any gap between the current and potential future businesses. It remains business as usual for the UK/IRE daily operations which are managed by Loewe UK Ltd."
Loewe employs 400 staff, which were informed of the closure ahead of the widespread insolvency news.
Innovating with the likes of the Mimi Defined personalised audio, and being an early player in the 4K TV race, Loewe will be sadly missed.
