Munich – Now it’s official: Galeria gets two new owners – the department store chain, which has already been declared dead, will live on. The German entrepreneur and investor Bernd Beetz (73) spoke publicly for the first time on Wednesday about how he wants to save the insolvent department store chain.
He used to run the cosmetics company Coty, among other things, was briefly chairman of the supervisory board at Kaufhof and is currently president of the Waldhof Mannheim football club. He sees his future role at Galeria as “chairman” and “pace-setter”.
© Fabian Strauch/dpa
by Fabian Strauch/dpa
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New owners for Galeria: 70 locations will remain throughout Germany
On board is the US multimillionaire Richard Baker, head of the Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay Company. “What unites us is our love for the department store. It is part of the German culture of life,” said Beetz. “We believe in the future of Galeria and have only one focus: the department store.” The new owners would not allow themselves to be distracted by “real estate valuations”, they wanted to “create worlds of experience” and “lead Galeria to sustainable success”.
The new owners want to continue operating more than 70 of the 92 Galeria locations, said Beetz. The current Galeria boss Olivier van den Bossche should stay. The Galeria works council chairman reacted with relief and joy on Wednesday. Jürgen Ettl from Munich said: “It was a long time of uncertainty as to whether or how things would continue. Now we have found two investors who have the confidence to continue Galeria successfully.”
“There will be tough cuts”: The Galeria fleet should still remain as large as possible
But the department store chain will have to shrink again and employees will lose their jobs – around 12,800 people are currently employed in the company. What is certain is that the headquarters in Essen will be closed and a significantly reduced team will move into smaller rooms.
“It is clear that there will be tough cuts again,” said Ettl. “But thousands of jobs will also be saved.” Which branches will be closed should be determined by the end of April. Then Galeria insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus wants the insolvency plan ready.
“We want to keep the fleet as large as possible,” said “Chairman” Beetz. But you can’t afford to have a boat that “has a big leak, sinks and takes the whole fleet with it.” This refers to inefficient business structures and unprofitable locations. Beetz announced intensive negotiations with landlords. René Benko’s insolvent Signa is the landlord at 18 Galeria locations. In some cases, the AZ learned, Signa is said to have signaled that it was willing to accommodate the rent.
The Galeria branch on Rotkreuzplatz in Munich is a shaky candidate
Around 3,000 people are currently employed in 24 Galeria branches in southern Germany. Munich has four locations: at Marienplatz, in the OEZ, at Münchner Freiheit and at Rotkreuzplatz. The latter is considered a shaky candidate – Signa charges a disproportionately high rent there.
For Philipp Kretzer, the Galeria boss in southern Germany, the new owners are “the best thing that could have happened to us,” he told AZ. “They have a clear strategic direction.” Bernd Beetz brings a lot of retail experience from Germany and Europe. “I am extremely confident and optimistic.”
Beetz will be in the front row at Galeria in the future. The Galeria manager sees Richard Baker and his family office NRDC as acting more in the background. He also had personal contact with the Americans: A few weeks ago, Kretzer led the NRDC managing directors through branches in southern Germany: in Stuttgart, Ulm and through the Munich branch on Marienplatz.