By Pauline von Pezold
Friedrichstrasse is one of the most popular shopping streets in Berlin – and yet more and more shops are empty. When Galeries Lafayette actually closes next year, customers and businesspeople will fear the end of the shopping mile.
There are 500 meters between French and Leipziger Strasse. In these 500 meters alone, ten shops are currently empty. The famous French department store is also on this section. Should it really become the Central Library, the luxurious shops Friedrichstrasse is known for could soon be counted on one hand.
The designer brands Marcell von Berlin and Marc Cain had to close their shops, and the GEOX branch no longer exists either. Only the lettering above the empty shop area is reminiscent of “Superfoods and organic liquids” and the Berlin coffee chain Caras is currently being renovated after it was taken over by “Prêt à Manger”.
The Galaries Lafayette is scheduled to close in the next few years. Then a library could move in gallery Photo: Olaf Wagner
It all started in the 1990s with so much ambition, Friedrichstrasse wanted to compete with the Kudamm. One store after the other is now leaving the shopping mile.
In the Galeries Lafayette, only the gastronomy in the basement is well frequented this Wednesday. Above, between the exclusive fashion around the glass cone, you can see a few customers, mostly tourists.
Antiques dealer Willi Breitenkamp (80) is one who wants to stay: “Friedrichstrasse looked very different ten years ago. There was every business here that had a name.”
Then Corona came, later the road was closed to cars. Breitenkamp: “Friedrichstrasse is simply not suitable as a pedestrian zone. My wife always says: Nobody goes to buy a Chanel suit by bike.”
Willi Breitenkamp (80) has been running his antique shop for over 50 years: “Friedrichstrasse
looked very different ten years ago” Photo: Olaf Wagner