“Established corporations like the sports goods manufacturer Adidas or the fashion chain H&M announce that they want to break ongoing rental contracts and immediately stop paying rent due to the forced closure of their branches in the Corona crisis. There are already the first lawyers who recommend such a breach of contract as a clever idea for quickly improving liquidity to start-ups, referring to the right to refuse performance (…) The start-up scene will clearly position itself against such unsolidary behavior, not follow the recommendations of shyster lawyers and just not walk around in sneakers from Adidas or hoodies from H&M anymore. A PR disaster for the established ones. The wave of protest is already raging on the net. Brands have never maneuvered themselves into the offside faster. And consumers will take this into account in their purchasing decisions.”
– Andreas Haug, partner of the globally active venture capital company Eventures, in “A fatal signal in Corona times”, guest commentary in Handelsblatt, April 1, 2020, page 48, No. 65
