The provisional Galeria insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus, who was appointed with today’s application by the department store group, wants to quickly start looking for investors.
An investor process for the company will be started at very short notice, Denkhaus said on Tuesday in Essen. The aim is “that we can exit this insolvency procedure again within a time frame of seven or eight months”. There are already interested parties, said Denkhaus. He didn’t name names. “We will approach other interested parties. Existing interested parties can take part in this process.”
Appeal: Galeria employees should remain loyal to the company
Meanwhile, Denkhaus appeals to employees to “remain loyal to the company”. “We now have the insolvency benefit period until the end of March,” said lawyer Stefan er. The Federal Employment Agency has announced that insolvency money will also be paid in this procedure. “Give us the chance that together we can pull the cart out of the mud and into it lead a good future.” He has no expectations that the state will step in again with fresh money. According to its own information, the department store chain currently has more than 15,000 employees, including 12,500 permanent employees, plus seasonal workers.
Future of the 92 branches
According to management, it is still unclear whether there will be further store closures at the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store group as a result of the insolvency proceedings. “We can’t say that now,” said the chairman of the board, Olivier van den Bossche. “As of today, we have to see how the rental negotiations go.” They haven’t started yet.
There are 92 branches that will continue to operate. “But as I said, the leasing negotiations still have to be ongoing and then we have to draw the conclusions.” Van den Bossche continued: “If we have a reasonable rent, the department store has a very good future in Germany.” However, it is very difficult when burdened with rents that are actually not in line with the market.
All properties are rented, said Denkhaus. “There are branches that are doing well. There are some branches where we will have to renegotiate.” This also applies to the properties owned by the Signa real estate company, which itself had to file for insolvency. “We will then discuss it with the colleague who is assigned there Negotiations have to be conducted. But these are exactly the kind of negotiations that you would have with a non-insolvent landlord,” Denkhaus continued. (dpa)