Essen The ailing department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is cutting its plans for branch closings even further. “Literally in the last second” negotiations with the landlords succeeded in ending the six department stores in Berlin-Lichtenberg (Ringcenter), in Bielefeld, in the Alstertal shopping center in Hamburg, in Leonberg, in Nuremberg-Langwasser and in Singen Still to avert, reported the chairman of the Galeria management, Miguel Müllenbach, in an employee letter on Friday. Within a month, the number of houses threatened with closure has reduced from 62 to 50.
According to the general works council, the preservation of the six department stores will save a good 500 more jobs at the traditional company. It is the second time that the group is cutting its closure list. At the beginning of July, the retail giant withdrew the announced closure of the Karstadt department stores in Dortmund, Nuremberg Lorenzkirche, Goslar and Potsdam and the Kaufhof branches in Chemnitz and Leverkusen.
Müllenbach gave the employees of the other 50 houses on the closure list in the letter no hope of further agreements at the last minute. “I know that the disappointment for the employees of the branches, for whom the closure resolutions now have to be implemented, is great,” he simply wrote and thanked them for their work.
The general works council chairman Jürgen Ettl, however, emphasized that he hoped that it would be possible to save even more branches from closing. It is a good day for the rescued branches. “It is all the worse for the branches that were unfortunately not named today,” said Ettl. But the people in the branches that were closed fought with a lot of passion to keep their department stores going. And recent developments show that it is worth doing this until the last day. “For us, giving up is not an option.”
The shopping center operator ECE, whose portfolio includes some of the houses that have now been removed from the closure list, is still hoping to keep more shops. “For some locations we have meanwhile been able to come to an agreement with Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof on the basic economic data for a continuation,” emphasized a company spokesman. “Talks are still ongoing about other locations.” The solutions found in the negotiations included, in his words, “essentially long-term rental contracts at adjusted terms”. The ECE portfolio includes department stores in Dessau, Essen, Frankfurt and Nuremberg that are threatened with closure.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof had got into a serious crisis due to the corona-related closure of all branches and had to seek rescue in protective shield proceedings at the beginning of April. In mid-June, the company announced the closure of 62 of the 172 department stores as part of its redevelopment plans. In the affected municipalities, the department store group’s plans to close have in many cases raised concerns about the city centers being deserted.
Galeria boss Müllenbach also announced in the employee letter that the online business and the networking with the branches would be “a matter for the boss” in the future. There have been too many problems here in the past. “Customers no longer forgive“ teething troubles ”such as technical problems and delays in delivery, they simply switch dealers. We can’t afford that. ”Corona has made online trading even more important.
Which Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof branches will be closed?
- Berlin Charlottenburg (Karstadt)
- Berlin Gropius Passage (Karstadt)
- Berlin Hohenschönhausen (Kaufhof)
- Berlin Müllerstrasse (Karstadt)
- Berlin Tempelhof (Karstadt)
- Bonn (Karstadt)
- Braunschweig (Kaufhof)
- Bremen (Kaufhof)
- Bremerhaven (Karstadt)
- Bruehl (Kaufhof)
- Dessau (Karstadt)
- Dortmund (Kaufhof)
- Düsseldorf Schadowstrasse (Karstadt)
- Düsseldorf Wehrhahn (Kaufhof)
- Food (Kaufhof)
- Essen (Karstadt)
- Flensburg (Karstadt)
- Frankfurt Hessen-Center (Kaufhof)
- Frankfurt Zeil (Karstadt)
- Fulda (Kaufhof)
- Goeppingen (Kaufhof)
- Gummersbach (Karstadt)
- Gütersloh (Karstadt)
- Hamburg Bergedorf (Karstadt)
- Hamburg Mönckebergstrasse (Kaufhof)
- Hamburg Wandsbek (Karstadt)
- Hamm (Kaufhof)
- Hanover Georgstrasse (Karstadt)
- Ingolstadt (Kaufhof)
- Iserlohn (Karstadt)
- Cologne Weiden (Kaufhof)
- Landau (Kaufhof)
- Lübeck (Karstadt)
- Mainz (Karstadt)
- Mannheim N7 (Kaufhof)
- Mönchengladbach Rheydt (Karstadt)
- Munich Am Nordbad (Karstadt)
- Munich OEZ (Karstadt)
- Munich Stachus (Kaufhof)
- Neubrandenburg (Kaufhof)
- Neumuenster (Karstadt)
- Neunkirchen (Kaufhof
- Neuss (Kaufhof)
- Norderstedt (Karstadt)
- Osnabrück (Kaufhof)
- Stuttgart Bad Cannstatt (Kaufhof)
- Sulzbach MTZ (Karstadt)
- Trier Simeonstrasse (Karstadt)
- Witten (Kaufhof)
- Worms (Kaufhof)
These bargain centers and the not yet opened branch in Berlin-Tegel are also affected:
- Bargain Center Giessen
- Bargain Center Frankfurt NWZ (only temporary operation)
- Berlin Tegel (not yet opened)
More: Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof closes these 50 branches
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