Deichmann brings former Müller boss Günther Helm into its leadership
From 2027 the Austrian will oversee sales, expansion and most European subsidiaries of the Essen-based shoe retailer. It is not a succession plan, the company says.
Symbolic image · Photo: Michael König 1503 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Essen-based shoe retailer Deichmann is strengthening its leadership: Austrian executive Günther Helm, former head of drugstore chain Müller, will become a managing director on 1 January 2027. He will be responsible for sales, construction and expansion as well as most of the European country subsidiaries, reporting directly to board chairman Heinrich Deichmann, who said the company was setting the course for the next phase of its international development. According to trend, Helm will gradually take over from sales chief Martin Fischer, who is retiring.
The 47-year-old law graduate began his career at Aldi Süd and ran its Austrian discount arm Hofer. From 2019 to 2022 he led Müller, where owner Erwin Müller had groomed him as his successor before the relationship broke down. He then worked in the Middle East, most recently as head of the retail division of Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim, which operates around 400 Carrefour stores. In early 2023, according to Börsen-Zeitung, he had been chosen to head the retail arm of the Signa group but never took up the post.
A spokesperson rejected speculation that Helm would succeed Heinrich Deichmann, 63: “It has nothing to do with a succession arrangement.” The family plans for his son Samuel Deichmann, 33, to eventually lead the company as the fourth generation; this spring he took over the sneaker chain Snipes. Deichmann generated net sales of €7.6 billion in 2025 and operates around 4,700 stores in more than 30 countries.