Munich announces 65 redundancies and the closure of 15 stores in Spain

Madrid – Renowned Barcelona-based brand Munich, which specialises in the design and sale of fashion and footwear, has begun negotiations for a collective redundancy procedure. This will affect approximately 65 employees and involve the closure of 15 stores. The restructuring of its workforce and retail network is a result of the economic difficulties the company has faced over a particularly challenging last fiscal year.

Both the company and the legal representation for its employees have confirmed to the EFE Agency that Munich, based in Capellades, Barcelona, has initiated a collective redundancy procedure citing economic reasons. This will result in 65 redundancies and the closure of 15 stores. The impact is expected to be staggered, with the job losses concentrated among the staff of the 15 affected stores. Through this restructuring process, Munich aims to streamline its retail network by closing its least profitable points-of-sale.

This measure is considered a last resort for the company's management to address the decline its business model has experienced over the past year. The decision comes after Munich's management attempted to implement alternative solutions to closures and the subsequent redundancies. These efforts included attempts to renegotiate the lease terms for the affected stores. These talks ultimately did not yield the desired outcome, leading to the implementation of this collective redundancy plan. Munich has described the decision to Efe as painful, stating it was driven by losses within a portion of its retail network.

Closure of 15 stores and 65 redundancies

Munich's origins trace back to Luis Berneda and the small workshop where he began manufacturing and selling footwear between 1939 and 1945. The company officially launched as a brand in 1966 and is currently managed by brothers Xavier and David Berneda, the third generation of the founding family. Following a period of sustained expansion in recent years, the brand now operates nationally in Spain. It has a significant presence in multi-brand stores and through a network of approximately 40 monobrand spaces, which includes 27 stores and 13 corners within various El Corte Inglés department stores.

The employees affected by this restructuring work at the points-of-sale within this store portfolio, which is managed by the company La Tormenta Perfecta. These stores are spread across 14 provinces, located both on the high street and inside some of the country's main shopping centres and the department store group controlled by sisters Marta and Cristina Álvarez. The process directly involves the brand's intention to close a total of 15 points-of-sale. According to the employees' representatives, these are located in cities such as Barcelona; Madrid; Seville; Málaga; Zaragoza; and San Sebastián.

Regarding these closures and redundancies, the employees' legal representatives also state that the company intends to expedite the redundancy process, with the consultation period ending in mid-August. They also claim the company plans to pay the legal redundancy packages in instalments and will not make a real reduction in the number of affected employees or stores, but rather just postpone some closures and dismissals for a few months. Munich has denied that this delay is an attempt to mislead employee representatives. The company insists that the closures and redundancies will ultimately align with the specific contractual conditions it holds for each of the different stores affected by this restructuring.

Decline in sales and order delays

To put this collective redundancy procedure into a broader context, local generalist newspaper La Vanguardia reported in early March 2026 that Munich had entered into discussions with its banking pool. The purpose was to refinance its debt, which exceeds 20 million euros. At the same time, the company reportedly began trying to negotiate rent reductions for its stores. It appears these negotiation efforts did not achieve the Barcelona-based brand's desired objectives, ultimately paving the way for the announcement of this redundancy plan.

In March, it was reported that both measures were aimed at reducing operating expenses and postponing short-term debt maturities. This debt was fuelled by investments in recent years to expand its retail network and diversify its product catalogue with new categories. These actions followed a decline in Munich's business during its last fiscal year. The brand was particularly affected by the current macroeconomic climate, which led to a significant drop in sales in its direct-to-consumer operations and delays in orders from its wholesale and multi-brand partners.

In response to these disruptions to its usual operations, the Barcelona-based company had already begun to restructure its sales channels. This included closing two stores in Spain, one in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona) and another in Leganés (Madrid), and opening two new international stores in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. These initial adjustments will now be complemented by the effects of this redundancy plan on both Munich's workforce and retail network. The company expected to close its last fiscal year 2025, on March 31, 2026, with a turnover of around 70 million euros. This figure would be 14.63 percent behind the nearly 82 million euros the company turned over in its 2024 fiscal year, following a year-over-year sales growth of approximately 9 percent.