Theft of millions forces luxury watch start-up into bankruptcy

In mid-November, luxury watches worth around ten million euros were lost in a burglary. As a result, the Berlin start-up Watchmaster, which specializes in the online sale of luxury watches, had to file for bankruptcy.

On November 19, two unknown men committed a burglary in Berlin’s Fasanenstrasse, taking millions in stolen property. As reported by the Berlin policethe men pretended to be employees of a security company.

This is how they got access to the private locker system in Berlin Charlottenburg. The depot of the luxury watch retailer Watchmaster was also affected by the burglary.

The background to the theft

According to the previous investigations, the police assume that those involved already had “prior knowledge of the location and the security precautions there”. It was “obviously” not a spontaneous act.

It can also be assumed that “other unknown suspects” were involved in the burglary.

Prosecutors have offered a reward

The investigators of the State Criminal Police Office are now looking for relevant information. This applies to both the suspects and the loot.

The Berlin public prosecutor’s office has offered a reward of up to 5,000 euros for information leading to the conviction of the suspects. Private individuals have also offered a reward. This even amounts to 20,000 euros.

Watchmaster has to file for bankruptcy

Around 1,000 of a total of 2,000 Watchmaster watches in storage were stolen during the burglary. That reports this, among other things Handelsblatt citing a director of the company. The Berlin start-up suffered damage of more than ten million euros.

Although Watchmaster is insured for such a case, it only receives the purchase value. That does not “by far” cover what the company “invested in processing and certification as well as marketing”.

For this reason, Watchmaster was now forced to file for bankruptcy. Because after the theft, the company was no longer able to create “a positive continuation prognosis”.

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