Court approves preliminary insolvency proceedings for Galeria
The German department store chain may continue operating for now, while 12,000 employees face uncertainty.
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The Amtsgericht Düsseldorf approved preliminary insolvency proceedings for department store chain Galeria on Monday. The 83 branches will remain open for now, but the future of the company and its staff is uncertain.
Galeria again requested the opening of insolvency proceedings on Friday. It is the department store chain’s fourth insolvency proceeding in six years. The court’s decision gives the company temporary legal protection and allows an administrator to examine its financial situation.
The court appointed lawyer Frank Kebekus as provisional insolvency administrator. According to German public broadcasters, operations will initially continue. This means that shops will not close immediately and customers can continue visiting the branches for the time being.
Around 12,000 people work for Galeria. It is not yet clear whether all jobs will be retained or which branches can remain open in the longer term. Many department stores have already disappeared in previous reorganisations. The works council and trade union ver.di have called for clarity about employment.
The chain says the proceedings should provide room to assess the situation and stabilise the company. Galeria has not provided a complete overview of the reasons for the new application. German media do report, however, that revenue had fallen sharply in the months before the application and that additional financing was needed.
The new insolvency once again puts the future of the classic department store under pressure. Galeria sells clothing, household goods and consumer products, among other things, in large city-centre shops. Those shops are competing at the same time with online retailers, specialist chains and changing consumer behaviour.
The next phase will focus on financing, rental contracts and the question of which branches are economically viable. Preliminary insolvency proceedings are not a definitive closure decision. Only after investigation and negotiations will it become clear whether Galeria can continue, be scaled back or be restructured.
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The current court decision and its short-term consequences have been confirmed by several German public sources. The possible outcome for branches and jobs remains expressly uncertain.
- confirmed The Amtsgericht Düsseldorf has ordered preliminary insolvency proceedings. — Confirmed by Deutschlandfunk and court information cited in German reporting. source
- confirmed Galeria has 83 branches and around 12,000 employees. — These figures are mentioned by Tagesschau and Deutschlandfunk. source
- confirmed This is the fourth insolvency in six years. — Confirmed by several German public broadcasters. source
Editor's note
The court decision, the number of branches and the number of employees have been confirmed. The ultimate cause of the financial problems and possible closures have not yet been established.Sources
- Galeria-Insolvenzantrag vom Gericht zugelassen — Deutschlandfunk
- Nordrhein-Westfalen: Galeria stellt erneut Insolvenzantrag — Tagesschau
- Galeria wieder insolvent: Fassungslosigkeit in Hamburg — NDR/Tagesschau
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „galeria insolventie”
- De Telegraaf — „galeria insolventie”
- Trouw — „galeria insolventie”