Hellweg and BayWa: 35 Stores Saved
- Thirty-five of 114 Hellweg and BayWa Bau & Garten stores have found potential buyers following the chains' June 2026 insolvency, though some deals remain subject to competition
- Obi has confirmed the purchase of five stores, with around 250 staff due to transfer on 1 December 2026, and has been nominated as preferred investor for seven additional sites.
- Around 4,000 workers have received precautionary redundancy notices, with up to 79 stores set to close by the end of November 2026 alongside both corporate headquarters.
Thirty-five of the 114 stores belonging to the insolvent Hellweg and BayWa Bau & Garten DIY chains have now been identified as potential acquisition targets, offering a lifeline to staff but leaving roughly 4,000 other employees facing precautionary redundancy notices.
The Scale of the Rescue
Hellweg and BayWa Bau & Garten entered insolvency proceedings in June 2026. The combined network of 114 stores was immediately placed for sale on an individual basis, with administrators confirming early on that a rescue of the entire estate was not feasible. The latest position, announced by the insolvency team, identifies 18 Hellweg locations and 17 BayWa Bau & Garten sites as having attracted buyers. Thomas Feldmann, an appointed communications adviser, cautioned that some agreements remain conditional. “The solutions are in some cases still subject to competition-law clearance or a final agreement with the respective landlord,” he said.
Obi Leads the Buying Interest
Obi, the DIY group headquartered in Wermelskirchen, has publicly confirmed the purchase of five locations: the Hellweg branches at Berlin-Tiergarten, Berlin-Yorckstraße, and Münster-Gievenbeck, together with the BayWa Bau & Garten stores at Nördlingen and Wolfratshausen. Around 250 members of staff across those five sites are expected to transfer to Obi on 1 December 2026, with the stores scheduled to reopen under the Obi banner following refurbishment in March 2027. Obi has additionally been nominated as preferred investor for seven further locations, though negotiations on those sites are described as ongoing. Bauhaus is also reported to be actively bidding in the proceedings, though no confirmed acquisitions by the chain have been announced.
Closures and Redundancies
The list of stores for which no buyer has yet emerged is considerably longer. Up to 29 BayWa Bau & Garten outlets and 50 Hellweg branches face closure by the end of November 2026, with clearance sales under way in the interim. Precautionary dismissal notices have been served on approximately 4,000 workers employed at those sites. The two corporate headquarters — in Dortmund and Garching — are also to be shut, with a combined 340 administrative staff affected.
Reasons Cited and Outlook
The insolvency group attributed its difficulties to a weak home-improvement market, subdued consumer spending, rising rents, and cost pressures driven by inflation. Co-restructuring director Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hölzle described the rescue of 35 sites as an initial success. “Our primary objective was and remains to preserve as many locations, and therefore as many jobs, as possible,” he said. Whether further sites can ultimately be saved hinges on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations and any required regulatory approvals — a question that will determine the final scale of one of Germany’s most significant retail restructurings of recent years.
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