When Diethnis Athlitiki started in 1977 with one store in the center of Athens, the Greek sportswear market was far from today’s industry of international brands, retail chains and e-commerce.
Almost half a century later, the company that linked its course with the Admiral brand and expanded in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkans is facing a different kind of challenge. Its restructuring.
Diethnis Athlitiki Single-Member LLC filed on September 30 an application with the Athens Multi-Member Court of First Instance for the ratification of a restructuring agreement. According to the application, the agreement is supported by creditors representing 97.95% of claims with special privilege and 71.73% of the other claims.
The case has been scheduled to be heard on November 25 in the same court.
The plan is based on a 15-year business plan, which provides, among other things, for the pledging to the creditor banks of the privately owned Admiral trademark. As part of the restructuring effort, the company has agreed to repay part of the bank loans through the sale of owned real estate, while it has included tax and social security debts in the out-of-court mechanism.
At the same time, last April, a few months before the restructuring agreement, it expanded its corporate purpose beyond sporting goods and franchising, adding food service, café, canteen and retail sale of grocery items activities.
In 2005 it added Kappa and Robe di Kappa to its portfolio for Greece and Cyprus, while also expanding its partnerships with athletes and football clubs. This was followed by Starter and Maui and Sons, the expansion of Kappa in the Balkans and entry into e-commerce through admiralsports.shop.
Regional growth accelerated in 2019 with new retail outlets in the Balkans, while the company continued its partnerships with Greek football teams, including Panathinaikos FC. By 2021, according to the company history, the network numbered 138 stores in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkans, with more than 800 employees.
The picture reflected in the 2024 financial statements (ed. note: latest published balance sheet) is different. At the end of 2024, the company’s total liabilities had increased to 41.29 million euros, from 32.64 million euros, while equity had been reduced to 2.71 million euros, from 8.50 million. Current liabilities had reached 38.81 million euros, compared with current assets of 33.70 million euros.
As for sales, they had declined to 49.7 million euros, from 52.12 million euros in 2023.