Stricker, a large supplier in the European promotional products market, has entered into a financial process that allows companies to renegotiate their debts and establish a recovery plan without being declared insolvent.

In Portugal, where the firm is based, the Special Revitalization Process, or PER, is for companies that are in a difficult economic situation or facing insolvency, but that can still recover because they are considered economically viable. The goal is to create a plan that enables firms to continue doing business and to pay off debts.

Stricker, it was reported by Agencia Lusa, was carrying about 51 million euros in debt. The firm went to court on the PER process with what it said was an agreement already established with the majority of its creditors for paying off the debt load and getting back on solid financial ground.

ASI Media contracted Stricker for comment, but hadn’t heard back as of this writing.

Agencia Lusa cited sources at the company that said the firm was “far from insolvency” and that it had already implemented significant cost-cutting measures beginning in 2023, when staff reductions also reportedly occurred. Sources said Stricker could undertake moderate hiring this year, and that the firm anticipates returning to “healthy financial ratios” in 2025.

Founded in 1944, Stricker is continuing to operate as it goes through the PER process. The firm’s website says that it’s present in three continents (Europe, Asia and South America) and works with clients in more than 100 countries.

Agencia Lusa reported that about 40 million euros of the debt is owed to banking entities.

Stricker reportedly generated record growth after the COVID-19 pandemic, but adequate profitability didn’t follow, creating an imbalance that “put into question” Stricker’s ability to secure renewable credit of its financing lines, which a source said is “critical to maintaining the level of working capital necessary for its normal activity, especially the level of inventory.”

Stricker’s PER process is mainly focused on rates and deadlines associated with debt repayment, the company reported. The firm asserted that today it’s already carrying less debt and more stock, and is generating greater profitability than a year ago.

According to a 2023 study from ASI Research, combined promotional products distributor sales in the European Union and United Kingdom were $12.48 billion in 2022 – a figure that accounts for apparel and hard goods business.