The group currently operates 131 department stores in 97 German cities Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Thissen
By Nils Kottmann
Germany’s last large department store group, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, is seeking rescue in protective shield proceedings for the second time in two years. This was announced on Monday by a company spokesman in Essen. The protective shield is intended to prevent final insolvency.
︎ It’s still going to be bitter for the employees: Galeria boss Miguel Müllenbach wants to close at least every third branch, as he announced in the “FAZ”. Layoffs are unavoidable. With 17,000 employees, the group currently operates 131 department stores in 97 German cities.
It was not until September that the group had to close its financial year with a loss of 622 million euros – only weeks later the company applied for state aid. Russia’s war in Ukraine and high inflation hit Galeria hard.
For energy alone, the company will have to spend over 150 million euros more than previously planned in the next two years. In addition, people limited their consumption to the bare essentials. This endangers the future of the company.
In 2021 and 2022, a total of 680 million euros from taxpayers’ money had already flowed to Galeria in two payments. The company last filed for preliminary insolvency in April 2020 in order to save itself from creditor claims of two billion euros. The Corona crisis cost Galeria thousands of jobs and 40 of its then 171 branches.