Gries Deco Company GmbH
Gries Deco Company GmbH is a German private limited company (GmbH) registered with the commercial register at the Amtsgericht Aschaffenburg under number HRB 623, with its registered office in Niedernberg, Bavaria (postal code 63843). The company’s retail business traces back to a decoration and household-goods enterprise founded in 1948 in Schollkrippen, Germany, which grew into the "Depot" chain of home-decoration and lifestyle stores. The registered business purpose of Gries Deco Company GmbH covers the development, manufacture, import, export, wholesale and retail distribution of decoration, household and gift items and furniture, together with related franchising activity.
On 15 July 2024, Gries Deco Company GmbH applied for self-administered insolvency protection (Schutzschirmverfahren) at the Aschaffenburg Regional Court, citing financial difficulties affecting the Depot retail network; the proceedings were formally opened on 25 September 2024. During the restructuring, a significant number of Depot store locations in Germany were closed. As part of the insolvency process, the Depot retail operating business was transferred, effective 1 April 2025, to a newly established successor company, GDC Deutschland GmbH, which continued to trade under the Depot brand with a reduced store network.
GDC Deutschland GmbH subsequently filed its own self-administered insolvency proceedings in May 2026, citing insufficient insolvency assets (Masseunzulanglichkeit), and announced on 27 August 2026 that it would cease all Depot business operations in Germany by 30 September 2026, terminating remaining store leases and around 730 employment contracts. Christian Gries, the group’s controlling individual, has stated an intention to relaunch the Depot brand at a substantially smaller scale after the wind-down.
Because Gries Deco Company GmbH’s own Depot retail operations were transferred out during 2025, current public reporting on the 2026 Depot insolvency and closure concerns the successor operating entity, GDC Deutschland GmbH, rather than Gries Deco Company GmbH directly. This profile covers the registered entity HRB 623; its own current Handelsregister status could not be independently confirmed from a primary registry filing during this review.
- Company fundamentals
- Corporate linkage & group structures
- Digitized company financials
- Firmographics — websites, social profiles, revenue and employee estimates
Shareholders
Shareholders of Gries Deco Company GmbH
Gries Deco Company GmbH is a Gries family-controlled business. Its verified immediate parent company is Christian Gries GmbH, based in Niedernberg, Germany, which became sole owner of the wider Gries Deco Group in December 2019, when it acquired the remaining stake previously held by the Swiss retail group Migros, adding it to a smaller stake already held. This transaction ended Migros’ long-standing minority involvement in the group and consolidated full ownership with the Gries family.
Ultimate beneficial ownership
Christian Gries, grandson of company founders Oskar and Maria Gries, is publicly reported as ultimate beneficial owner of the group through his wholly owned holding vehicle, Christian Gries GmbH. He also resumed active operational leadership of the business from early 2024. No further indirect ownership chain above Christian Gries GmbH was identified in this review.
Data availability
Shareholder and beneficial-ownership information for German GmbHs is filed with the Handelsregister and the Transparenzregister. This overview reflects the ownership transaction publicly reported for December 2019 and could not be cross-checked against a current primary registry extract during this review; availability should be treated as Partial / Historical pending verification against the latest Transparenzregister filing.
Sources
- Handelsregister summary for Gries Deco Company GmbH, Amtsgericht Aschaffenburg HRB 623 (online-handelsregister.de), retrieved 2026-09-17
- "Christian Gries uebernimmt die Gries Deco-Gruppe," diyonline.de, retrieved 2026-09-17
- "Gries Deco Holding," German Wikipedia, retrieved 2026-09-17
Officers
18
Directors and officers of Gries Deco Company GmbH
The profile’s underlying registry data lists five historical officer records for Gries Deco Company GmbH. Three show resignation dates: Sabine Gries (appointed 17 October 2003, recorded as resigned 21 August 2006), Simon Baumann, Managing Director (appointed 27 February 2019, resigned 10 January 2020), and Martina Novotny, Managing Director (appointed 4 May 2018, resigned 11 March 2020). Two records are shown without a resignation date: Svend Hartog, Managing Director (appointed 3 May 2022) and Michael Eilbacher, authorised signatory / Prokurist (appointed 26 July 2021). External registry-linked reporting indicates Svend Hartog was no longer listed as Managing Director after March 2023, so the active status shown in this profile’s baseline data should not be treated as current. Christian Gries, publicly reported since 2024 as the group’s controlling owner and operational leader, does not appear among the officer records reviewed for this profile.
Data availability
Officer information for German GmbHs is filed with the Handelsregister. Secondary sources reference a registry change dated 5 November 2024, close to when Gries Deco Company GmbH’s insolvency proceedings and subsequent business transfer to a successor entity were underway. Given the extensive management and structural changes reported around that period, the current officer roster should be regarded as Historical rather than confirmed current; it was not independently re-verified against a live Handelsregister extract during this review. Nationality is not disclosed in the available data.
Sources
- Handelsregister summary for Gries Deco Company GmbH, Amtsgericht Aschaffenburg HRB 623, retrieved 2026-09-17
- Registry-linked records for Svend Hartog and Michael Eilbacher via Northdata search index, retrieved 2026-09-17
- "DEPOT: Neustart nach Insolvenz," unternehmerblatt.de, retrieved 2026-09-17
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Handelsregister (Commercial Register), including entries the profile above does not cover.
Group Structure
Group structure of Gries Deco Company GmbH
Gries Deco Company GmbH is part of a Gries family-controlled corporate group built around the Depot home-decoration retail brand. Its verified immediate parent is Christian Gries GmbH (Niedernberg, Germany), which has held full ownership of the group since December 2019. A verified related group entity is Depot Handels GmbH (Austria), the group’s Austrian retail operating company, which entered its own insolvency proceedings in August 2024. Depot CH AG (Switzerland), the group’s former Swiss operating entity, filed for bankruptcy on 31 January 2025. Following Gries Deco Company GmbH’s 2024 German insolvency proceedings, the Depot retail operating business in Germany was transferred, effective 1 April 2025, to a newly formed entity, GDC Deutschland GmbH. This successor company’s precise legal relationship to Gries Deco Company GmbH was not confirmed by a primary filing in this review, so it is described here only as a related successor operating entity under the same ownership rather than a verified subsidiary. GDC Deutschland GmbH itself entered a second insolvency in May 2026 and announced the wind-down of all Depot operations in Germany by 30 September 2026.
Verified corporate relationships
| Entity | Country | Registration number | Relationship | Ownership | Status | Information date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Gries GmbH | DE | HRB 10459, Amtsgericht Aschaffenburg | Immediate parent | 100% (reported) | Active | Dec 2019 |
| Depot Handels GmbH | AT | FN 331562t | Related group entity (Austrian retail operations) | Ownership percentage not disclosed | Insolvency proceedings (since Aug 2024) | Aug 2024 |
| GDC Deutschland GmbH | DE | Not verified in this review | Related successor operating entity (Depot Germany business transfer) | Not applicable | Second insolvency; ceasing operations 30 Sep 2026 | 2025-2026 |
Recent structural changes
- 1 April 2025: Depot Germany retail operations transferred from Gries Deco Company GmbH to newly formed GDC Deutschland GmbH, following the 2024 insolvency proceedings.
- August 2024: Austrian group entity Depot Handels GmbH entered separate insolvency proceedings.
- 31 January 2025: Swiss group entity Depot CH AG filed for bankruptcy.
Data availability
Group-level information for this entity is Partial: the immediate parent is verified through Handelsregister-linked reporting, but the precise legal relationship, if any, between Gries Deco Company GmbH and GDC Deutschland GmbH has not been confirmed by a primary filing in this review.
Sources
- "Gries Deco Holding," German Wikipedia, retrieved 2026-09-17
- "Zweite Insolvenz von Depot: GDC Deutschland beendet…," retail-news.de, retrieved 2026-09-17
- "Christian Gries uebernimmt die Gries Deco-Gruppe," diyonline.de, retrieved 2026-09-17
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Handelsregister (Commercial Register), including entries the profile above does not cover.
CG Beteiligungs GmbH
Germany
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does Gries Deco Company GmbH do?
Gries Deco Company GmbH (HRB 623, Amtsgericht Aschaffenburg) was the original German operating company behind the Depot home-decoration retail chain. Following self-administered insolvency proceedings opened in September 2024, its Depot retail business was transferred to a successor company, GDC Deutschland GmbH, effective 1 April 2025. GDC Deutschland GmbH entered a second insolvency in May 2026 and announced it would cease all Depot operations in Germany by 30 September 2026.
Who owns Gries Deco Company GmbH?
The group is Gries family-controlled. Its immediate parent, Christian Gries GmbH, has held full ownership since December 2019, when it acquired the stake previously held by the Swiss retailer Migros.
Who is Gries Deco Company GmbH's UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner)?
Christian Gries, grandson of the company founders, is publicly reported as ultimate beneficial owner via his wholly owned holding company, Christian Gries GmbH.
What is Gries Deco Company GmbH's company registration number?
Gries Deco Company GmbH's registration number is HRB 623 Aschaffenburg, filed with Handelsregister (Commercial Register) in Germany. Its current status on the register is active.
Is Gries Deco Company GmbH still an active company?
Gries Deco Company GmbH's status on Handelsregister (Commercial Register) is listed as active.
What is Gries Deco Company GmbH's registered address?
The registered address on file for Gries Deco Company GmbH is Niedernberg, Germany.
Who are the officers/directors of Gries Deco Company GmbH?
Baseline registry data lists several historical managing directors and an authorised signatory, but the most recently confirmed change predates the 2024-2025 insolvency and business transfer, so current officers could not be independently verified in this review.
Does Gries Deco Company GmbH have a parent company or subsidiaries?
Verified immediate parent is Christian Gries GmbH. Related group entities include Depot Handels GmbH (Austria, in insolvency since August 2024) and Depot CH AG (Switzerland, bankrupt since January 2025). The Depot Germany retail business itself was transferred to a related successor entity, GDC Deutschland GmbH, in April 2025.
Can Zavia monitor changes to Gries Deco Company GmbH's ownership over time?
This profile reflects a point-in-time snapshot from Handelsregister (Commercial Register). Zavia's monitoring API can track changes to Gries Deco Company GmbH's registered shareholders, officers, and group structure going forward, flagging updates as they're filed rather than requiring a manual recheck.
Can I access Gries Deco Company GmbH's data through an API?
Yes. Zavia's API connects directly to official government ownership registries across 195 countries and territories, including Germany, so records like Gries Deco Company GmbH's registration, shareholder, UBO, and group-structure data can be queried programmatically instead of viewed one page at a time.
Where does this company information come from, and how current is it?
This record is sourced directly from Handelsregister (Commercial Register) and was last synced on 17 September 2026.