The Bremen Karstadt branch is also said to fall victim to the wave of closures at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte wants to help.
Bremen – The Bremen branch of the insolvent department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is scheduled to close on January 31, 2024. This emerges from a statement from the company on Monday. Across Germany, the last major department store group in the country wants to close 52 of the remaining 129 department stores. According to the Verdi Lower Saxony-Bremen services union, around 240 employees could Bremen lose their jobs.
Clear cut at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof also affects branch in Bremen
Indications that the Bremen branch would have to stop operating were known in advance on Monday. Among other things buten and inside von Radio Bremen reported about it. According to a statement from the Bremen Economics Department, the branch has obviously been put on the list of closures because those involved could not agree on the rent payment and the financing of upcoming investments.
The lessor of the premises is the Bremen construction and real estate entrepreneur Kurt Zech, who heads the Zech Group. A company spokesman did not comment on a request. The owner of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is the Austrian entrepreneur René Benko.
Karstadt closure in Bremen: Mayor Bovenschulte “regrets” – and wants to help
“I very much regret that there has not yet been an agreement between the owners of the department store group and the property,” said Bremen Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD). The Senate, the government, stands ready to support it. It must be prevented that the location in the Hanseatic city is closed. In terms of sales, he is certainly viable.
Both Mayor Bovenschulte and Economics Senator Kristina Vogt reacted with incomprehension to the fact that the Bremen Galeria Karstadt branch is now threatened with closure. “In our talks, Karstadt left no doubt that Bremen is a viable location and can remain so in the future. That’s why I’m surprised by the negative development,” says Kristina Vogt, Senator for Economics, Labor and Europe, in one press release of the Senate.
Closures of Galeria and Karstadt: Here in Lower Saxony they are closed
- Braunschweig (around 185 employees) – Closing January 31, 2024
- Hildesheim (around 80 employees) – Closing January 31, 2024
- Oldenburg (around 70 employees) – Closing January 31, 2024
- That (around 60 employees) – Closing June 30, 2023
At the end of October, Galeria had to seek rescue in protective shield insolvency proceedings for the second time in less than three years. In a letter to employees at the time, CEO Miguel Müllenbach named the exploding energy prices and the slump in consumption in Germany as the reason for the company’s situation. From the start, the manager left no doubt that the renewed restructuring would involve significant cuts in the branch network and significant job cuts. (dpa/sm)
