Image: dpa/Oliver Berg
“Yes, we are separating from individual managers,” Galeria boss Olivier van den Bossche told the news magazine “Spiegel” according to an advance report on Sunday. “We had to see how many people we still needed in the headquarters.”
- Also read: Close confidant: Benko “a broken man” after Signa bankruptcy
Department stores should work more regionally in the future. So far, decisions have been made at the headquarters in Essen. “If the manager of our branch on Munich’s Marienplatz with a turnover of more than 100 million euros wanted to replace a light bulb, he had to submit an application to the headquarters. We stopped that,” said van den Bossche.
Galeria in trouble again due to Signa bankruptcy
Galeria was once again in trouble as a result of the financial problems of its owner, the Austrian Signa Group. The chain operates 92 branches in Germany and claims to employ more than 15,000 people.
- You might also be interested in: Signa Lamarr bankruptcy hits companies in Upper Austria
The company had already gone through insolvency proceedings and received state aid from 2020 during the corona pandemic. In 2022 it needed further state aid, and a second insolvency procedure followed in 2023. In contrast to the previous proceedings, business has recently been going relatively well again.
Rent payments to Signa stopped
Since January, Galeria has been subordinate to the insolvency administrator Stefan Denkhaus. Galeria has stopped making rent payments to its parent company Signa, which is also insolvent. He is currently renegotiating it. Denkhaus would like to sell Galeria as a whole. “I’m particularly concerned about the branch network,” he said. You have to see what potential investors have in mind.
more from economics
