Works council sees future
Department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof wants to file for bankruptcy
January 8, 2024, 12:17 p.m
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The Galeria department store chain cannot escape the Signa Group’s crisis either. According to ntv information, the group plans to file for insolvency tomorrow, Tuesday.
The department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof plans to file for bankruptcy tomorrow, Tuesday. ntv learned this from the environment of the Austrian real estate investor and Signa founder René Benko. In recent years, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has already been insolvent twice. The department store company, which has come under pressure and is now part of the Austrian Signa Holding, was to receive an aid payment of 200 million euros from Signa. Due to the current developments in the Signa Group, a payout is unlikely.
Despite the turbulence at parent company Signa, the works council believes the department store chain is viable for the future. The fact that the core companies of the Signa Group are insolvent means “that we can free ourselves from the Signa Group and its interests,” works council leader Jürgen Ettl told “Wirtschaftswoche”. If a new owner is found who “has an interest in Galeria doing well, just as we do, the company will be viable for the future.”
According to Ettl, Galeria can offer a single investor or consortium a return of between 6 and 17 percent. “We can guarantee 3 percent in bad times and at least 6 percent in good times.” To do this, among other things, the rents at the Signa locations would have to be reduced to a market level. Further job cuts at the Essen company headquarters can hardly be avoided. “It’s hard for me as a works council,” said Ettl. “I would like to keep every job. But in our situation there shouldn’t be any prohibitions on thinking, even for works councils.”
The company network of the Austrian real estate billionaire René Benko, which also includes Galeria, is faltering due to increased interest rates, construction costs and energy prices. Several parts of the group are insolvent.