What do the CFOs of major retail companies expect this year? Where do they see the biggest challenges, and what are they planning to do to address the issues? Our third consecutive CFO survey gathered the opinions of executives at leading companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in April 2026.
The crisis is structural, not cyclical: There's no sign of past growth levels returning anytime soon.
Operational restructuring alone is not enough: Cost and margin optimizations and organizational initiatives will not create a sustainable business model.
CFOs are co-piloting the transformation: Besides managing cash flow, profitability, and financing, they need to steer portfolio decisions and the business transformation.
The German economy has been stuck in a weak growth phase for years, and the fashion and lifestyle industry has found itself particularly hard hit. At the same time, global consumer and commerce platforms, vertically integrated competitors, and emerging brands are entering the market at speed. The combined result is not only lower demand but a fundamental shift in the logic around pricing, channels, and relevance.
For 83 percent of the CFOs in the 2026 Pulse Survey, the ongoing weak economy is their biggest challenge – and there is no near-term recovery in sight: 83 percent expect revenues to stagnate or decline this year, with only a small minority forecasting growth above five percent. This reinforces a pattern seen across the industry for several years now: weak revenues coupled with a cost structure that offers limited flexibility.
The crisis besetting the industry was felt most in the mainstream segment to begin with, but premium and luxury are now losing momentum, too. In fact, the majority of CFOs in the premium market expect performance to be weaker than last year. The entry-level segment, by contrast, is showing greater resilience.
While revenues are stagnant, CFOs continue to anticipate significant cost increases, especially in energy and logistics. Procurement and staffing costs are not making things any easier, either. At the same time, substantial investments are needed in internationalization, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. Many companies face a difficult trade-off: they must secure their near-term cash flow and profits without undermining the very capabilities their business will depend on in the future.
Simply making cuts is therefore not enough. Much of the potential that could be realized quickly has long since been exhausted. Cost-cutting programs need to be more selective and distinguish between strategically relevant capabilities and structural complexity.
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Among CFOs, 83 percent consider the importance of restructuring or transformation to be high or very high. This is a significant increase on 2024. Fully 86 percent of companies are already implementing such programs, with reorganization and margin optimization dominating, followed by reductions in other operating expenses.
Respondents attest that the measures they're taking are bearing fruit: 92 percent of companies have seen measurable impact on their income statement. So restructuring works. But the implementation itself often falls short of companies' ambitions: a significant portion of the programs are reported to be slower or less effective than planned.
If transforming the business with the company's own resources is not a realistic prospect or doesn't make economic sense, selling up could be an alternative. The problem is that more than 70 percent of CFOs say the buyer's market for fashion assets is weak. A lack of investor interest, low valuations, and businesses not being ready for sale are the biggest hurdles.
When transactions do take place, it is strategic competitors and turnaround specialists that dominate. A sale often occurs under distressed conditions and at a significant discount.
Where neither transformation nor sale is realistic, an orderly wind-down remains an option – and has long been the solution in many cases: a significant proportion of companies have closed business units, locations, or brands in the past 24 months or are currently in the process of winding them down.
But closure is neither quick nor cheap. Severance payments and social plan costs, long-term rental and lease agreements, labor law complexities, and dismantling obligations all present heavy financial burdens. Many companies face a dilemma: they can't afford to wind the business down, but nor can they afford the ongoing losses long term.
Today's CFOs are responsible for far more than just the company's reporting, financial statements, and financing. They safeguard liquidity, weigh up strategic options, steer transformation programs, and provide transparency over business consequences.
Even though traditional restructuring programs remain the foundation of any transformation, it's now crucial to evolve the business model end to end. That's because the future of a fashion or lifestyle business will be determined by factors way beyond any cost-cutting measures.
The CFO has three key tasks in this process:
They must secure liquidity, limit risks to profitability, and maintain the company's ability to raise capital. At the same time, they must effectively prioritize programs, make progress measurable, and manage implementation across the business. And finally, they must evaluate strategic options, improve capital allocation, and never stop asking whether the business model is fit for the future. The winners of this industry realignment will not necessarily be those who cut costs the most, but rather those who are faster than their competitors at deciding which brand propositions, products, channels, and capabilities are going to be relevant to create value for their customers.
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