Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof slides from one crisis to the next. Many locations are now threatened with closure. Although the majority of the branches are not profitable, investor Markus Schön believes in the department store concept - mainly because of the many motivated employees.
The step taken by the ailing department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof to file for bankruptcy under its own responsibility endangers the jobs of 17,400 employees. Finally, the group has announced that it will close most of its remaining 131 department stores. Investor Markus Schön could be a ray of hope for the disappointed and angry employees who, according to the Verdi services union, have invested millions of euros in the group for years by waiving their salaries. The managing director of the online retailer Buero.de has expressed an interest in 47 endangered branches in medium-sized cities - even though the majority of the branches are not profitable. Nothing is known about a possible purchase price.
His idea: you continue what is good, you change what is less good. According to Schön, you can certainly change one or the other of the assortment or the presentation. From his point of view, however, one thing that should not be neglected is that there are great employees on site. "For years, the employees have been hearing that their work is not worthwhile and is not profitable at the locations, and yet they come to work every day motivated and really pull their weight. That's the pound that you can actually capitalize on," says Schön ntv .
Nevertheless, Schön does not see himself as the savior of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. "Savior is perhaps a bit much to say." He is interested in taking over 47 branches of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof that would otherwise be threatened with closure. The fact that these locations are not profitable is not an exclusion criterion for Schön, that could be changed. "We believe that our concept, which we then want to transfer from Buero.de to stationary retail, would lead to a shopping experience being created again," says Schön. This experience would then ensure that locations that were previously unprofitable or unprofitable would also gain significantly in profitability.
In his career so far, Schön has had little contact with department stores. Since 2019, the managing director of the asset management company Schön
There is not yet a concrete plan under which brand the acquired locations should run. "Buero.de is certainly a bit short-sighted, since we don't just want to offer office and school supplies, but will be on the move more widely," says Schön. Even if the naming hasn't played a role yet, the potential investor is certain: "We'll come up with something less bulky than Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof."
At Verdi, it is said that the employees have clear expectations. On the one hand, there is the demand on the owner that additional money must now flow into the company. On the other hand, those responsible should change tack and finally present a department store of the future. The employees made many concrete suggestions for a successful future, which the management did not listen to.
