This is the story of the fall of Anton Schlecker’s empire of seven thousand shops with thirty thousand employees, but I would not write this article if I did not believe that Schlecker’s empire could be rescued. There is no question about the urgency of a rescue plan: currently, Schlecker loses about €20 million every month, so deep cuts will have to be made, as it is too late to adopt a strategy that simply avoids further declines in profits or market share. It is also too late for heavy investments and higher credit lines. It is time to determine what went wrong, what can be rescued, and what makes economic sense.