Bierothek® is renovating with PLUTA
Bamberg, April 14, 2026 – The Bamberg-based specialty beer retailer Bierothek® is responding to changes in the German beer market and restructuring its group of companies. Due to the market-driven decline in franchise stores, the company is transforming into a digital enterprise. As part of this restructuring, the company aims to streamline its operations and focus even more on Europe-wide online sales.
The changes in the German beer market are also affecting the well-known specialty beer retailer Bierothek®. Shifting consumer and purchasing habits have put significant pressure on brick-and-mortar beer retailers in Germany in recent years. The number of specialty beer shops has declined steadily and across the board since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the same period, the number of Bierothek® stores operated by independent franchisees has also decreased from a peak of 17 to just 4 today.
The Bamberg-based company recognized the structural changes in consumer and trade behavior early on and consistently initiated the transformation towards a digitally and internationally oriented business model. To this end, fiscal representatives were established in nine European countries to ensure legally compliant and efficient direct sales to customers in markets such as Sweden and Finland. In parallel, the Bierothek® marketplace was created, a digital platform that enables breweries to distribute their beers throughout Europe. This offering is complemented by a comprehensive online shop solution that allows breweries to establish an independent brand presence and directly engage with their customers.
The implementation of this transformation process now necessitates a restructuring of the complex structures of the corporate group from the past. Within the framework of standard insolvency proceedings, restructuring experts Peter Roeger and Holger Christian Buehler of PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH are supporting Bierothek® in bringing in new investors and streamlining its structures. They have been appointed by the Bamberg District Court as provisional insolvency administrators for Bierothek GmbH and Bierothek Marketplace GmbH and are currently assessing the situation. "Business operations are currently continuing. All orders placed through the online shop are being processed as usual, and trading via the marketplace is also still possible," explains specialist lawyer Peter Roeger. His PLUTA colleague Holger Christian Buehler adds: "The goal of all parties involved is to develop a viable perspective for the future. We are examining all options to reach a solution that benefits the company, its customers, and its creditors." Bierothek® sees the restructuring as an opportunity to reposition itself for the challenges of the beer market and to further expand its digital and international business.
