The wavering trade giant Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has resorted to the rescue package. What would be the consequences of an out of the goods group for Munich? An expert assesses the situation.
- In the corona crisis *, the retail giant Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof slipped under the rescue umbrella.
- Does this threaten Munich with the loss of several large department stores?
- The company speaks of immense losses.
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Munich – It was a bang, even if it didn’t come as a surprise: the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof sparked SOS on Wednesday. The retail giant, recently merged, is looking for protection under one Rescue package. Could this mean the death of the traditional department stores in Munich? End of large and small Munich department storesin which citizens in the city and in some parts of the city have been taking care of each other for decades?
Has the over 100 year old idea of the department store finally survived? That asked the tz the spokesman for the trade association Bavaria, Bernd Ohlmann. He is convinced that this is not the case. “We need the big department stores for the inner cities, that’s it Heart of every Bavarian municipality. Wherever there is such a department store, there is a high frequency of customers. ”The entire retail trade in the area benefits from this.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof in need: Handelsverband doesn’t believe in the end of department stores
Trust in the strength of the retail giants: Bernd Ohlmann is spokesman for the Bavarian Trade Association.
© fkn
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Ohlmann is certain that the concept “everything under one roof” too survive the corona crisis becomes. “Years ago, the end of department stores was predicted, which has so far always proven to be a mistake.” Ohlmann is confident: “When the Corona battle is over and the smoke has cleared again, I’m pretty sure that Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is still there is. “
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For the department store group that comes Protective shield procedure however, at a very bad time. “The restructuring of the department stores was on the right track before this crisis,” said CFO Miguel Müllenbach. The Austrian real estate investor René Benko, whose Signa group initially took over Karstadt in 2014, still had one in early March Progress in the restructuring process praised after the merger with Galeria Kaufhof in 2018. The job cuts were practically complete.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof: Short-time work requested and rental payments stopped
Now the remaining employees, in large houses around 500, in smaller ones around 100, have to go again fear for their jobs. To reduce their own costs, the department store group had weeks ago for large parts of the workforce Short-time work * requested. The Rental payments for all department stores, sports stores, travel agencies and logistics properties have been stopped.
According to its own statements, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has been losing every week since March 18 due to the closure of the department stores more than 80 million euros in sales. All hopes rest on the protective screen.
Just a few weeks ago, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof took over a well-known sporting goods provider. Meanwhile, Adidas ensures the next hammer after the scandal of unpaid rental payments. The EU is putting together a € 100 billion package for employees and the self-employed.
* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Sebastian Hölzle / BW
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