After the insolvency of Signa Holding, the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store chain has little chance of survival from the point of view of retail experts. Trade expert Gerrit Heinemann from the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, for example, cannot imagine that an investor could be interested in taking over the group. “The outlook is bleak. From a business perspective, it doesn’t make sense,” Heinemann told the German Press Agency.
Johannes Berentzen, head of the BBE trading consultancy, also expects a difficult search for investors. “At a time of low interest rates, entry into the German market might have been interesting for international investors or even trading groups. In today’s market and interest rate situation there is hardly any chance of finding a buyer.”
Experts: Central Group could take over locations
However, both experts can imagine that the Thai trading company Central Group could take over at least individual Galeria locations in major cities. The group already owns luxury department stores, including Berlin’s KaDeWe, the Alsterhaus in Hamburg and the Oberpollinger in Munich.
Austrian billionaire René Benko’s Signa Holding GmbH announced insolvency proceedings on Wednesday. According to its own information, the holding company applied to the Vienna Commercial Court to open self-administered restructuring proceedings.
The Swiss subsidiary Signa Retail Selection AG, which also includes Galeria, applied for bankruptcy protection in court on Wednesday. The aim is to decouple the company and liquidate it in an orderly manner, the company quoted its chairman Christian Wenger as saying. The business should be handled in an orderly and transparent manner, regardless of the insolvencies of the rest of the Signa Group. The board of directors assumes that it will be able to settle all external liabilities and sell the parts of the company in a well-organized and structured manner in the coming months. (dpa)