Hard times for department store giants: Numerous Karstadt and Galeria Kaufhof branches are facing the end

The ailing chain of department stores, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, is threatening to close up to 80 of its 170 stores. This emerges from a first restructuring concept that was presented to the general works council and other bodies on Friday, as the German press agency learned from the corporate environment.

However, the number of branches threatened could be reduced if the landlords and other parties were willing to make concessions.

The radical cuts also affect the Karstadt Sport branches and the Group’s travel agencies. As the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” reports, 20 of the 30 branches of Karstadt-Sports are close. At the subsidiary Atrys, which operates Karstadt travel agencies, 100 of the 130 travel agencies are expected to close.- “That would be a hard blow, especially since we fear that it will hit structurally weak municipalities in particular,” said Norbert Portz, infrastructure expert from the German Association of Cities and Municipalities, to “Welt”. “We have to save what can be saved.” This is one of the reasons why Portz appealed to the property owners to accommodate the retail group with rents.-
–