Sami I. (72) from Steglitz: “I have often been a customer here. I bought another jacket and a skirt. I think the closure is a real shame. They had beautiful fashion that you couldn’t get anywhere else.” Photo: Olaf Selchow
By Sara Orlos Fernandes
Yesterday we shopped for the last time in the Hallhuber branch on Schloßstrasse in Berlin-Steglitz. The insolvent Munich fashion chain is closing all stores.
In the branch on Boulevard Berlin on Wednesday there were only a few skirts hanging in the emptied room. On the last day open, some customers are drawn to the store. Many regret the closure.
The company filed for insolvency proceedings again on its own initiative two years after the first bankruptcy and the closure of the online shop this spring due to loss of sales. As a company spokesman announced, the last attempts to find new donors have now failed.
Hanni K. (79) from Steglitz: “I am very disappointed. I’ve bought a few things here over the years. It’s very sad, people only buy online. I worry about our shopping streets of the future. Shops keep disappearing and being replaced by junk shops.” Photo: Olaf Selchow
In Berlin, the branches in the Mall of Berlin, on Kurfürstendamm and on Schloßstraße are affected by the closure. Most rental contracts have already been terminated. The fashion chain is also disappearing from the Galeria Karstadt department stores on Alexanderplatz and Kudamm.
This Hallhuber branch on Boulevard Berlin on Schloßstrasse will be closed forever from October 26th Photo: Olaf Selchow
Nils Busch-Petersen (60), managing director of the Berlin-Brandenburg trade association, is worried: “Textile shops have to close every day – forced by Corona, topped by the consequences of war and inflation.” In uncertain times, the textile industry is always severely affected. “You have to buy food even in times of crisis, but it’s best to save money on clothing,” he says.
According to the head of the trade association, the decline in consumer sentiment compared to 2019 is still in the double-digit range. Busch-Petersen is demanding from politicians: better framework conditions for retail such as additional Sunday shopping.