The following 16 Galeria shops will shut down.
The last major department store chain in Germany, Galeria, is not going to be dismantled. The creditors' meeting in Essen has given the green light to the restructuring plan for this struggling chain of department stores. However, this doesn't mean all stores will be saved.
Galeria, once a major player in the retail world, has found itself in a difficult spot. The chain fell into insolvency again after its previous owner, Signa Holding, the investment company of Austrian investor Rene Benko, also went bankrupt. Now, the department store chain is about to change hands. Coty's former CEO, Bernd Beetz, and the US trading company Richard Baker are planning to take over Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. The deal is set to be completed in July.
Galeria had announced at the end of April that it would be closing 16 of its remaining 92 stores and letting go of around 1,400 of its 12,800 employees. Stores that will be shut down include: Berlin (Ringcenter, Spandau, Tempelhof), North Rhine-Westphalia (Essen, Cologne Breite Strasse, Wesel), and Bavaria (Augsburg, Regensburg Neupfarrplatz, and Würzburg). Additionally, these department stores will be consolidated: Chemnitz, Leonberg, Mainz, Mannheim, Oldenburg, Potsdam, and Trier Fleischstraße.
The insolvency administrator revealed that creditors like landlords and suppliers had submitted claims totaling over 800 million euros. It is predicted that only around 2.5% of these claims will be paid back. The insolvency rate could potentially increase if Galeria receives payments from claims against companies of the former parent company Signa. These negotiations are ongoing, according to Denkhaus.
Beetz stated in Essen, "We want to lead Galeria into a successful future, and we're putting ourselves on the line to do so." He intends to put an end to the decline of the business due to online retailers and simply says, "We want to offer a better shopping experience." He also mentioned "targeted investments" for the struggling company, but didn't provide specific numbers. Finally, Beetz promised to keep the workforce intact.
Read also:
- Lack of snow also opens up new opportunities for winter tourism
- Abrupt end to e-car subsidies
- The chemical industry has little confidence
- Intersport boss hopes for sales boom through sporting events
Given the circumstances, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof's insolvency in the retail trade is a significant challenge for Rene Benko, its previous owner. Despite the 16 Galeria stores set to close, including those in Berlin, Essen, and Bavaria, the new owners, Bernd Beetz and Richard Baker, aim to revive the chain and improve the shopping experience, hoping to halt its decline.
Source: www.ntv.de
