- The company names Kaufhof and Karstadt are history
Germany's last major department store group has removed Karstadt and Kaufhof from its corporate name. Effective August 1, the Essen district court lifted the insolvency proceedings that began in January, allowing the struggling company a fresh start.
The company will now be known simply as Galeria, previously it was Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, the result of the 2018 merger of the former rivals Kaufhof and Karstadt. Both names have now been removed from the corporate name.
New Owners
At the end of May, creditors approved the insolvency plan, paving the way for the restructuring and rescue of the retail giant. Effective August 1, the company has new owners. The US investment firm NRDC and a holding company of entrepreneur Bernd Beetz now control Galeria S.à r.l. & Co. KG, the new corporate name.
S.à r.l. is a French abbreviation for "Société à responsabilité limitée", a limited liability company. The Galeria parent company, Naboo Holdings S.à r.l., is based in Luxembourg.
Reduced Number of Stores
Galeria currently operates 92 stores in Germany, but this number is set to decrease to 83 by early September. Four years ago, there were more than double that number, 171. In the future, the company will employ around 12,000 people nationwide.
Galeria CEO Olivier Van den Bossche is optimistic about the company's future, focusing on its core competence as a department store and separating from Galeria travel agencies. The remaining stores will be modernized to "create an attractive shopping atmosphere and an ideal shopping experience," as Van den Bossche puts it.
Galeria, now under new ownership with NRDC and Bernd Beetz's holding company, aims to revive its business following the removal of insolvency proceedings. The company's trading name has also seen a change, moving away from its previous trade names Karstadt and Kaufhof.
Due to strategic changes, the number of Galeria stores in Germany is set to decrease from 92 to 83 by early September, indicating a shift in the company's trading approach.
