The department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has filed for insolvency at the Essen district court. A spokesman for the company announced this on Tuesday in Essen.
The department store chain Galeria-Karstadt-Kaufhof has filed for bankruptcy. It’s the third time in three years. The background is the imbalance of its owner Signa.
Galeria is part of the extensive Signa empire of the Tyrolean investor René Benko. Its Signa Holding and, among other things, two important real estate companies have already filed for insolvency. The department store giant from Karstadt and Kaufhof, with around 12,000 full-time positions, belongs to Signa Retail Selection AG, based in Switzerland, which applied for bankruptcy protection at the end of November and declared that it wanted to liquidate its portfolio. All of this has consequences for Galeria.
Signa Holding had committed to providing Galeria with an amount of 200 million euros. It is unclear whether the money will now flow. If the funds fail to materialize, Galeria will head for another bankruptcy, several insiders said. But a new investor is also being sought. There was no comment from Signa.
The chain, which has been in crisis for years, was originally aiming for an operating profit for the current financial year. According to the Verdi union, the important Christmas business also went well.
Source: Stern
