Woolworth Deutschland, which has been owned since late 2007 by the British investment group Argyll Partners, includes about 330 stores in Germany and Austria.
The first German store opened in 1926, and the group employs 10,700 people in the country, plus another 300 in Austria, a company spokesman said.
He declined to say why the company had been placed under administration however. A court spokesman told AFP the procedure was launched at Woolworth's request owing to the "threat of a default in payments."
"We are at a very early stage in this case," he added. On 6 January 2009, the last British Woolworths closed shop, with the group's collapse in that country leaving 27,000 people out of work.
The clothes-to-confectionery retailer has steadily lost market share in the past few years as specialised stores undercut its prices.
Source: AFP
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