Pluta partner Stefan Meyer appointed provisional administrator for specialist retail chain Hammer Raumstylisten GmbH – stores remain open

On 27 January 2026, the Local Court of Bielefeld, as the competent court, ordered provisional insolvency administration for the assets of Hammer Raumstylisten GmbH and appointed attorney Mr Stefan Meyer from PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH as provisional administrator. His immediate focus is on stabilising operations in the specialist Hammer stores and reviewing the company’s financial situation.

The specialist retail chain remains fully operational. The stores originally taken over from its initial insolvency are mainly located in northern, eastern and central Germany, including Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. All 87 stores operating at the time of filing for insolvency will remain open during the provisional insolvency proceedings, and customers can continue to shop at these as usual. Ongoing delivery and service activities are to be maintained with as little disruption as possible.

The provisional insolvency administrator and his PLUTA team, which includes Mr Christoph Chrobok (attorney for general law and specialist attorney for insolvency and restructuring law), Ms Nadja Neuber (attorney and business management expert), Mr Philippe d’Avoine (attorney) and others, are currently conducting a comprehensive review of the company’s present situation and taking measures to stabilise ongoing operations. Hammer Raumstylisten GmbH is also being supported by a team led by Dr Kristian Klüppelberg from consulting firm Aderhold Unternehmensberatung. In parallel to the stabilisation measures, the restructuring experts will thoroughly analyse the company’s structures and conduct initial negotiations in the coming weeks with the main stakeholders in the proceedings as well as potential investors and other interested parties to secure the ongoing viability of the business.

“Our primary task is to safeguard ongoing operations and create a reliable basis for the next steps, which will be very challenging given the rapidly initiated follow-up insolvency. Having said that, we will do everything within our means to find another continuation solution that will be suitably robust. We will only succeed in this if all involved, particularly the main creditors, work closely together and maintain mutual trust,” said PLUTA managing partner Mr Stefan Meyer in his capacity as provisional administrator. A further structured M&A/investor process will be conducted in the coming weeks in close coordination with the creditors’ committee. The aim is to achieve a lasting, durable and robust solution for Hammer.

Employee salaries guaranteed

The business headquartered in Porta Westfalica, a city in East Westphalia, employs over 1,100 people. Their salaries are guaranteed for a period of three months thanks to specific substitute benefits provided under German insolvency law. According to management, the company has had to file for insolvency due to start-up delays in the supply of goods following the company’s re-establishment in October 2025 after the initial insolvency proceedings. These were due to technical problems in particular and resulted in the loss of sales and ultimately a liquidity crunch. These issues have now been mostly resolved.

Hammer has been synonymous with interior design quality and inspiration for five decades, having opened its first specialist stores in Bremerhaven and Lübbecke in 1976. Today, the company brings together craftsmanship, advisory services and retail activities and helps its customers produce beautiful, functional and individual living spaces. The company emerged from debtor-in-possession insolvency proceedings in 2025.