The department store chain Galeria is still in arrears on rent payments for individual branches. Among other things, the location at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz is affected. “The rent for April and March has not yet been paid in full, Galeria is still in default on the rent for May,” said a spokesman for Commerz Real, the owner of the property. Efforts are being made to find a solution, but alternatives are also being explored.
At the same time, Commerz Real called on the owners of Galeria to “fulfill their operating responsibilities more closely than before, for example with maintenance and urgently needed renovations”. Significant strategic investments in modernizing the retail concept are expected. Both sides only agreed in February to extend the user agreement until the end of March 2027.
Galeria in talks about new loan
When asked, another landlord also confirmed that the rent had not been paid by Galeria in April and May. The department store company did not want to comment on ongoing discussions and negotiations with contractual partners, but did not deny the allegations.
Some landlords had already complained a few weeks ago that rent payments had not been made. Galeria justified this with fluctuations in liquidity and admitted that it had asked the landlords for a deferment. However, this was not accepted by everyone. In some cases, payments were initially stopped during negotiations, but should be made up. As the German Press Agency learned from corporate circles, Galeria is currently in discussions about a new major loan.
Further branch closures possible
Galeria employs around 12,000 people and currently operates 83 department stores. However, the branch network could continue to shrink. In March, the chain announced that it would renegotiate the rental agreements at eight locations. Closures cannot be ruled out, it said. Branches in Munich (Rotkreuzplatz), Berlin (Kurfürstendamm, Hermannplatz), Cologne (Hohe Straße, Breite Straße), Mannheim, Braunschweig and Aschaffenburg are affected. The tense situation in inner-city retail was given as the reason.
At the beginning of 2024, Galeria filed for bankruptcy for the third time in four years. The reasons for this were, among other things, the financial difficulties of the parent company Signa and high rental costs. Nine locations were closed in summer 2024. Since then, Galeria has belonged to the US investment company NRDC and an investment company owned by the entrepreneur Bernd Beetz.