The District Court in Kranj, in Slovenia, has reportedly launched debt restructuring proceedings at Alpina, which makes outdoor and skiing footwear as well as a wider range of urban shoes. It has accumulated debts worth €42 million, chiefly due to a management buyout. The company, based in the small eastern town of Žiri, failed to agree on debt restructuring with its banks, so it filed a proposal for court-mandated debt restructuring at the end of June. Slovenian newspapers report that the court has appointed a receiver. The Bank Asset Management Company is expected to play a major role in the proceedings as well. The plan reportedly calls for creditors to convert liabilities of between €5 million and €10 million into shares of the Slovenian shoe manufacturer. An Alpina director was quoted as saying that the debt restructuring would not involve suppliers and that the company would manage to pay off half of its debts to the banks in the next ten years, provided Alpina reaches targeted annual growth of 3 to 5 percent. The Slovenian part of the company is expected to end the year with sales of €49.6 million, an operating profit of €1.2 million and net profit of about €340,000 (this excludes revenues from other entities in the former Yugoslav republics, Ukraine, China and the United States). Alpina makes an estimated 1.7 million pairs of shoes and boots each year, partly sold through its own stores in Slovenia and five other southeast European markets.

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