According to a report, the traditional Stuttgart-based Breuninger store and its branches are for sale. Verdi is reluctant to make a valuation. The trade association is committed to preserving the stores.
After the announcement of a possible sale of the Breuninger department store chain, the Verdi union does not see any major threat to the 6,500 jobs in Germany. “I am less worried about job security. Breuninger is in a much better position than other textile retailers,” said the regional trade department head, Wolfgang Krüger, in Stuttgart. However, some employees are worried. According to a report in “Wirtschaftswoche”, the owner families behind the Breuninger Group want to sell both the retail business and the associated real estate.
According to a list from the investment bank Macquarie, 31 companies have expressed interest in Breuninger, including both financial investors and retail companies. Some of them are only interested in the department store operation, others only in the real estate. The third group includes companies that can imagine taking over both. The department store group was initially unavailable for comment.
According to the “Wirtschaftswoche” newspaper on Wednesday, a Breuninger spokesman did not comment on questions about the sale. The president of the Baden-Württemberg trade association, Hermann Hutter, said that Breuninger was a beacon. In the event of a sale, he hoped that the department store chain would be taken over by an investor who would also take over the stores. They are important for the city centers.
Wave of bankruptcies in the fashion industry
According to the report in “Wirtschaftswoche”, negotiating circles are speculating that the entire Breuninger Group could be sold on the basis of a company value of 2.5 billion euros. After deducting debts, the purchase price could be around two billion euros, with around 1.8 billion euros likely to be for the real estate alone. The first offers should be available by the end of October.
Breuninger operates 13 department stores, including in Stuttgart and Düsseldorf. According to the report, the group generated sales of around 1.5 billion euros last year. Around 50 percent of this came from the online shop, which is present in ten countries.
The fashion industry is going through difficult times, and there has recently been a wave of bankruptcies. Among others, the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, the Düsseldorf-based fashion retailer Peek & Cloppenburg, the fashion manufacturer Gerry Weber and the German branch of the fashion brand Scotch & Soda have filed for bankruptcy.
Source: Stern
