STORY: The department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof wants to restructure itself again through insolvency proceedings and has applied for protective shield proceedings at the Essen district court. In 2021, Galeria had agreed on a loan of 460 million euros with the federal government, only in January did the federal government support the company with a further 220 million euros. The chain now wants to give up at least a third of its 131 branches. There should also be layoffs among the 17,400 employees. Verdi boss Frank Werneke. “At that time, in 2020, the employees agreed to an extensive collective agreement to secure jobs and accepted that the wages were significantly below the area collective agreement and the company had therefore made millions available in the last few months situation, the anger and disappointment among the employees is huge. The future depends on whether the owner finally keeps his word and makes sufficient investments in the houses.” Financial expert Chris-Oliver Schickentanz is skeptical that a renewed protective shield can save the chain. “We’ve seen in recent years that Karstadt and Kaufhof have repeatedly tried to reinvent themselves, but the whole thing hasn’t been crowned with success. I quite simply believe that the time of the big department stores, the big areas, the big On-site warehousing means that this time is actually over. I believe that if there is stationary retail, then it is more in small, flexible units where the consumer can then go in a targeted manner.” Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof belongs to the Signa Holding of the Austrian investor Rene Benko.