Status: 19.09.2021 3:18 p.m.
The TV manufacturer Loewe had to file for bankruptcy twice within a few years. The new owner is now trying to re-establish the brand with a wider range of products and new developments.
In a Munich hotel in the trade fair city, everything is set up: brightly polished flat-screen TVs stand in front of smartly designed display walls, loudspeakers provide background sound. The TV set and entertainment electronics manufacturer Loewe is showing its innovations on a “roadshow”. In Cologne, Berlin and Stuttgart, among others, the company has already presented the products Loewe wants to return to the market with retailers.
TV set development under high pressure
Alexander Paul, Product Manager at Loewe, you can tell you’re proud of the company’s new flagship: a high-end television with so-called OLED screen technology. Within a year and under high pressure, the engineers and designers at the headquarters in Kronach succeeded in redeveloping the device. When the company was presented last year, the dealers could only be shown wooden models. Now Loewe is presenting finished devices with the latest technology, sound systems and modern design, as we know it from the company.
Paul became a “Loewian” again in the spring of last year after stopping at other companies. Like him, many former employees have returned to Kronach. All employees see the new products as “their baby”, he says, the brand and the name Loewe are “an affair of the heart”. The new owner Aslan Khabliev, who took over the company after the second bankruptcy in 2019, is heavily involved and runs and sees Loewe as a family business.
The new owner Aslan Khabliev (left) and Christian Alber, member of the management, want to convince new target groups of their products.
Image: Richard Padberg
160 employees at the Kronach location
Christian Alber is a member of the management team and has been with Loewe for 25 years. He witnessed the bankruptcies in 2013 and 2019 and was involved in the search for a new owner two years ago. The key to getting the company back on its feet was the mix of experienced and new employees. Around 160 employees are now employed in Kronach again.
After two bankruptcies within ten years, things should go better this time. In the meantime, they have a wider range of products, have also grown in the audio sector and are breaking new ground, says Alber. In the past, Loewe was a closed system. The audio products such as soundbars and speakers can be used to address new target groups and combine the products with other TV manufacturers.
These new fields of business have been opened up primarily through the network of the new owner Khabliev. Thanks to the financially strong owner, one is no longer dependent on external investors who see Loewe as an investment, says product manager Paul.
Dealers and customers have to be convinced
Aslan Khabliev, the new strong man in Kronach, is satisfied with the company’s development at the roadshow in Munich. A lot has been achieved in a relatively short time. At the end of 2019, he only took over the brand and focused on rebuilding Loewe with a good team. Today he could say that we have a very well-functioning company again. Despite all the difficulties of the corona pandemic, he is proud of what has been achieved so far. But he still has many more plans and ideas with Loewe, says Khabliev.
The owner’s ultimate goal is to regain trust. After the two bankruptcies and failures in the past, they are still trying to convince dealers and customers of Loewe and the new products. He himself had many conversations and traveled through Europe. New products have been announced and the promises have been kept. In the meantime, dealers and customers have started to trust Loewe again. Perhaps they are not as good as they were before the bankruptcy, but they are on the right track, says Khabliev.
Loewe wants to rebuild and grow the company at the Kronach location, but in a healthy way, emphasizes Alber. They also want to reach younger customers with new, cheaper products. And healthy growth, according to the manager, is also linked to more employees.