Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof GmbH
Galeria
Company typeGmbH
IndustryRetail
GenreDepartment store
Predecessor
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
Headquarters
Germany Edit this on Wikidata
Number of locations
92[1] (2024)
Area served
Germany
ParentSigna Holding
SubsidiariesInno
Websitegaleria.de

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof GmbH (German pronunciation: [ɡaleˈʁiːa ˈkaːɐ̯ʃtat ˈkaʊ̯fhoːf]), based in Essen, Germany, is the second largest department store group in Europe, with 92 locations and 18,000 employees. The company was formed in 2018 with the merger of two of Germany's most historic department store chains, Galeria Kaufhof and Karstadt.[2] On August 20, 2021, it was announced that all stores of both chains would be rebranded as Galeria. The first three stores and the online store were rebranded on October 27, 2021, with remaining stores following.

The company suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2020 announced plans to close 62 of its 172 stores.[2] In January 2022, it received €250 million in federal aid, after having received a €460 million loan from the economic stabilization fund in 2021.[3] In November 2022, the chain announced it had filed for the German equivalent of insolvency for a second time and planned to close a third of its 131 locations.[4]

Former logo, used 2019-2021
  1. ^ "Galeria Locations". June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof closes a third of its shops". Deutsche Welle. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Galeria bekommt 250 Millionen Euro Staatshilfe". WDR (in German). 26 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  4. ^ tagesschau.de. "Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof: "Klare Erwartungen an den Eigentümer"". tagesschau.de. Retrieved 2022-11-03.