Inconsistencies at hardware retailer Mindfactory
Mindfactory has closed all previous customer accounts. There were rumors of insolvency for weeks – but now goods are available again.
For many years, Mindfactory was a popular place to go for graphics cards, among other things.
(Image: c't)
Events at German hardware retailer Mindfactory are said to have come thick and fast in recent weeks. An ever-shrinking product range led to rumors that Mindfactory could be insolvent. In the meantime, the store hardly stocked any of the latest processors and graphics cards, although AMD still prioritized Mindfactory until recently.
According to Mindfactory, it changed its internal store system on March 18. Annoyingly for existing customers, all previous accounts with order histories are no longer accessible. Customers will have to create a new account. Since the changeover, Mindfactory only accepts payment in advance and Paypal – Credit cards or other means of payment are no longer permitted.
Anyone who logs in with their previous data will receive the following message: "Hey, it's great to see you back! Our store database has been technically optimized and tidied up. Please register again with your data."
Mindfactory has not yet responded to press inquiries from us or other media. There has never been an official announcement of insolvency.
Investor possibly found
However, there has been a change in the online range: As of this week, numerous graphics cards are available again, including some GeForce RTX 5000 and Radeon RX 9000. Mindfactory also lists many processors – only the popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Ryzen 9 9000X3D are still not available.
According to rumors, Mindfactory may have found an investor. Wortmann AG, which sells PCs to corporate customers under the brand name Terra, is being discussed. Wortmann already owns the business-to-business retailer Kosatec. It used to be called b.com – and also ran into financial difficulties, which Wortmann helped it out of in 2013.
If Wortmann wants to enter the end customer trade, Mindfactory would be a good candidate on paper: according to the last annual reports (available in the Federal Gazette), business was good. Allegedly, tax inconsistencies led to a short-term payment of millions in arrears and put Mindfactory in payment difficulties. The Wortmann Group as a whole had a turnover of over 2.1 billion euros in 2024, so it should be able to swallow a million-euro back payment.
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