Unofficial BHRRC translation of German original (attached)

Deichmann currently does not purchase any products directly from Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia or Ukraine. In general, Eastern Europe plays a subordinate role for Deichmann in the production of its products. About 80 percent of shoes worldwide are produced in Asia and this percentage can also be applied to Deichmann.

In general, we do not have our own production facilities, but we buy our shoes directly from our production partners, usually in large quantities with a certain amount of advance planning. In this way we achieve favourable prices that we can pass on to our customers. All production partners are audited by external auditors such as TÜV or Intertek, both through announced and unannounced visits. In some larger factories, Deichmann staff are present all year round and develop the collections together with our production partners. If violations of our Code of Conduct are found, we work together with the manufacturers to remediate those [violations] and to improve the situation with a lasting effect.

It is correct that we are mentioned with our name in the report you quoted, but no concrete accusations are made in connection with us. Should anyone notice any violations, we can only ask them to disclose these findings to us so that we can check on the issue. This is the only way we can work together with our production partners to remediate any possible shortcomings.