As of: January 31, 2024, 7:34 a.m
By: Robin Dittrich
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The trading company KaDeWe Group had to file for bankruptcy.
This also includes the luxury department store Oberpollinger in Munich – which is important now.
Munich - A few weeks after the Signa company network of the Austrian investor René Benko ran into difficulties, the KaDeWe Group also had to file for bankruptcy.
In addition to the KaDeWe in Berlin and the Alsterhaus in Hamburg, the Oberpollinger in Munich is also affected.
KaDeWe Group files for bankruptcy after Signa problems
The KaDeWe Group owns 49.99 percent of Signa Retail, which is why the department stores are now affected by the group's difficulties.
The remaining 50.01 percent of the KaDeWe Group belongs to the Thai Central Group.
Despite the Signa problems, the insolvency of the KaDeWe Group comes as a surprise to many.
“Operationally, we are doing an outstanding job.
All hotels are recording increasing sales even in economically difficult times,” said KaDeWe managing director Michael Peterseim at the end of November 2023.
The Oberpollinger in Munich, which will remain open, also belongs to the insolvent KaDeWe group.
© Wolfgang Maria Weber/Imago
The three luxury department stores are doing better than ever.
In the 2022/23 financial year, the “highest-sales financial year in the company’s history” was celebrated.
This is one of the reasons why the department stores continue to operate despite the bankruptcy.
Despite the successful financial year, the rents at the three locations in particular are expected to put a strain on business.
These make “sustainable, profitable economic activity almost impossible,” as it is said.
KaDeWe Group files for bankruptcy: What's next for Oberpollinger?
The Oberpollinger department store in Munich opened in 1905. The worst fears are that many employees will be laid off and the luxury department store will be closed.
“Unfortunately the bad news regarding Benko and Signa doesn’t stop.
And once again the news of another insolvency hits the employees particularly hard,” the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
quoted Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter as saying.
Around 300 people are said to be employed in Oberpollinger in Munich.
The group has not yet announced whether everyone will be able to keep their jobs after bankruptcy.
According to politicians, the Alsterhaus in Hamburg and the KaDeWe in Berlin should definitely be preserved in the future.
The same should also apply to the traditional Oberpollinger.
“The Oberpollinger has a very long tradition in Munich and I can only hope and wish that the house will soon find a solvent and responsible investor who will give the people who work there security again,” Reiter continued.
(
rd with dpa
)