The restructuring efforts at the badly hit department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof have cleared an important hurdle. The district court of Essen opened the insolvency proceedings in self-administration for the retail giant on Tuesday, according to a statement from the court. According to the company, the provisional creditors’ committee had previously voted unanimously to continue self-administration.
The insolvency proceedings under self-administration follow the previous protective shield proceedings. Galeria had previously submitted to the court the insolvency plan drawn up over the past few months with the details of the restructuring concept.
Future of branches still unclear
According to the company, the restructuring concept envisages gearing the Galeria department stores more closely to local needs in the future. A customer-friendly integration of mobile, online and branch purchasing options is also planned. The goal is a leading position in the important segments of clothing, cosmetics and home accessories. A catering service is also planned. The attractiveness of the locations should also increase the integration of customer-relevant service offers such as insurance, tailoring, cleaning or citizen services.
According to the plans, all existing Galeria branches are to be modernized and converted to the concept. How many of the branches of the last major German department store chain still have a future, however, the company did not provide any specific information even three months after the start of the protective shield procedure. It is considered certain that more than 40 of the current 129 branches will fall victim to the cutbacks. But whether it will be 60 or even 80 seems uncertain at the moment.
“The company is currently negotiating with landlords. In particular, it still depends on their concessions which specific branches can be closed, continued or possibly transferred to a buyer,” the statement said.
New concept for gallery
Administrator Frank Kebekus emphasized that Galeria had presented a viable concept that took into account the interests of everyone involved. “Therefore, in my opinion, there is a very good chance that the creditors’ meeting, which is expected to take place at the end of March, will also approve the plan and that Galeria can position itself for the future.” The Essen district court called the creditors’ meeting for March 27th into food.
Galeria General Manager Arndt Geiwitz emphasized that the new concept must now be implemented quickly and consistently. “If that succeeds, Galeria in Germany will have a positive future.”
With the opening of insolvency proceedings, creditors can now register their claims against Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof with the administrator. (dpa)