North Rhine-Westphalia
Nine Galeria branches close as planned
31.08.2024, 13:12
The Galeria department store group is continuing to operate, albeit with a smaller branch network. 83 department stores will remain open. What customers with gift and customer cards need to bear in mind.
Essen (dpa/lnw) – The department store chain Galeria is closing nine of its branches by the end of this month as planned. This was decided in the course of the recently lifted insolvency proceedings. Two locations in Berlin are affected, as well as others in Essen, Wesel, Augsburg, Regensburg, Trier, Leonberg and Chemnitz. Around 800 of the 12,800 employees will lose their jobs as a result. Some of the branches – such as Essen and Wesel – had already closed during the penultimate week of August.
Of the original 92 department stores, 83 remain open. Gift and customer cards are still valid and can be used and redeemed in any branch and online, as the company announced on its website. Customers can therefore return or complain about items purchased in one of the closed stores in any other branch. It is possible to have a new return label generated online.
The department store group has had new owners since August 1st. The US investment company NRDC and a holding company owned by the entrepreneur Bernd Beetz now have the say at Galeria S.à rl & Co. KG, which is the new company name. Kaufhof and Karstadt have been removed from the company names. The new company sign, which only says Galeria, has already been gradually introduced. However, some branches still have old signs that still say Kaufhof or Karstadt. The new logo is to be introduced everywhere as part of the upcoming renovations.
Retail expert Carsten Kortum was skeptical about the new start: “I don't see it as a major breakthrough. So far, little is known or visible about what the owners are planning. New money would have to be put into the company, but that is apparently not planned,” said the professor at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University in Heilbronn. In his view, Galeria needs a new, younger business model. “I'm not sure whether that will happen. It would have a strong impact on consumers.”
