Swedemount Sportswear & Fashion AB has been granted a reconstruction procedure by the Tingsrätten (district court) 20th July 2023.

Swedemount Sportswear & Fashion AB will continue its retail operations through physical stores and through e-commerce at www.sportshopen.com, www.sportshopenoutlet.com and www.swedemount.com during the reconstruction procedure.

Lawyer Sten Sjöstedt, at Walthon Advokater will oversee the company's reconstruction, and Sten Sjöstedt will begin his work by ensuring the payment of employees' July salaries, which will be paid through the county administrative board.

The July payments may be delayed by a few days until the end of July or beginning of August. The exact payment date depends on the workload of the county administrative board in the coming week. Starting from August and onwards, salary payments will be made on the regular payment dates.

The company's suppliers will be informed by the Administrator according to his specified procedures.

The company's operations will initially continue as usual, but in collaboration with the Administrator, organizational changes will be made during the reconstruction.

The Tingsrätten (district court) decides on reconstruction procedures in three-month periods. The company's reconstruction process is planned to be completed in 2023.

During the pandemic, the border between Norway and Sweden closed and important physical stores along the Norwegian border were closed and heavily affected, resulting in significant revenue losses for the company. The Covid support the company received during this time is larger than what the company can currently repay. In combination with new strict amortization requirements from the bank and an extremely weak retail market for sports and leisure at present, the company's board has concluded that applying for reconstruction is the best option for the company, employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

The company's Chairman of the Board, Ulf Bjerknes, will actively engage in the operations as an operating Chairman during the reconstruction.

Ulf Bjerknes has extensive experience in the sports and retail industry and will provide significant support during the reconstruction process, says the company's owner, Reinert Sörensson.

Ulf has also served as the company's Chairman of the Board for several years, says Reinert Sörensson.

Ulf has over 15 years of experience in finance and CFO roles in various companies, including publicly listed companies. Since 2000, Ulf has held various CEO and COO positions and now holds several significant board positions in retail, "omni-retailing" (combining physical stores and e-commerce), and sports.

The company's CEO, Johan Andgren, will support the reconstruction process and says that it is an extraordinary situation that the company has been forced to and he is sorry that creditors might be affected but it’s done to save jobs and to get the business to survive over time. The company wants to continue be an important customer for suppliers, employer for employees and tenant for real estate companys and the best sport chain for consumers. We will make everything to create a viable company and navigate these tough times.

Ulf states that macroeconomic circumstances have put the entire industry under strain, with excessive inventory compared to current demand. 2022 was a challenging year for the sports and retail industry, and 2023 appears to continue to be a difficult year for the sector. However, Ulf believes there are good opportunities for the market to recover by 2024/2025, says Ulf Bjerknes.

These are extremely challenging times in the sports industry in Scandinavia, and we can see this through XXL, the only publicly listed sports retail company in the Nordic region, which is required to disclose its own and the industry's status every quarter, says Ulf Bjerknes.

But I see great opportunities for Swedemount to reconstruct its operations in a way that restores the company's viability, and that's why I have taken on the role of actively serving as the working Chairman of the Board during the reconstruction work, which is estimated to be completed in 2023, says Ulf Bjerknes.

Swedemount, including Sportshopen, has been profitable for 30 years and will regain profitability after the reconstruction, says Reinert Sörensson, who founded Swedemount in 1991.

For questions regarding the reconstruction of Swedemount Sportswear & Fashion AB, please email webb@sportshopen.com or sten.sjostedt@walthon.se

We will do our best to respond to inquiries as quickly as possible.

Ulf Bjerknes
Chairman of the Board
Swedemount Sportswear & Fashion AB
Mobile: +47 913 20 490

Johan Andgren
CEO
Swedemount Sportswear & Fashion AB
Phone: +46 (0)525 72 50 88

Reinert Sörensson
Creative Director/owner
Swedemount Sportswear & Fashion AB
Phone: +46 (0)525 72 50 01

Sten Sjöstedt
Company Administrator
Walthon Advokatbyrå
Mobile: +46 70 871 29 40