According to a media report, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof wants to close 16 more department stores. It is not yet known which of the 92 locations are affected. Around 1,400 jobs could be affected by the closures.
Germany’s last large department store group, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, wants to close 16 of its 92 branches. This is reported by the dpa news agency, citing information from the company. Insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus plans to announce details of the affected locations and the schedule on Saturday.
Of the approximately 12,800 people the company employs, 11,400 should keep their jobs. It was said that 1,400 would have to go. Denkhaus recently announced that half of the 900 jobs at the company headquarters in Essen would be cut.
Companies have been in a difficult situation for a long time
The department store group filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of January. It is the third bankruptcy within three and a half years. At the time, Galeria boss Olivier Van den Bossche cited, among other things, the insolvencies of the Signa Group of the previous owner Rene Benko as the reason for the difficult situation. Their imbalance had an immediate impact. As a result of Benko’s last insolvency, promised financial resources for the restructuring of the department store chain were no longer available.
In January, van den Bossche and Denkhaus announced the search for a new owner and the preservation of Galeria as their goals. The company then said it negotiated with several potential investors. It has been known since the beginning of April that a consortium made up of the US investment company NRDC and entrepreneur Bernd Beetz’s company BB Kapital SA wants to take over the department store chain.
Vote on Galeria at the end of MayChange of ownership
Insolvency administrator Denkhaus wants to present the insolvency plan for the change of ownership by the end of April. The creditors will meet on May 28th at the Essen Messe to vote on it. The plan is only legally binding when the meeting of creditors accepts it and it is then reconfirmed by the court. Denkhaus wants to hand over the company to the new owners by the end of July.