Sparkassen, Douglas, Pimkie, Media Markt, Zara: These branches are disappearing from the inner cities

Vacant sales areas can currently be found in almost every German city center.

As a result of the corona pandemic, more and more large chains are disappearing from the shopping miles.

Munich - The tough lockdown last winter caused enormous sales losses in retail.

This can also be seen in German city centers.

Many sales areas are empty and more and more shops are closing.

Large chains are also affected by the Corona crisis, which is why well-known brands are increasingly disappearing from inner cities and pedestrian zones.

Adler, H&M, Pimkie, Zara: These fashion stores are withdrawing from the city centers

In mid-January, the fashion chain Adler filed for bankruptcy under self-administration.

The trial ended seven months later.

The result: 30 branches are closed.

130 stores, however, are allowed to stay.

It is still unclear when all 30 planned stores have disappeared.

At the end of August, a company spokesman described the closings as an "ongoing process".

Also in January, H&M announced that it would close 250 stores worldwide.

At the moment, the shops in Wuppertal and Herford are on the brink.

With Pimkie, another fashion chain disappears from the German shopping miles.

The insolvent brand plans to reduce the branch network to 35 stores.

In August, the clothing store could be found 41 times in Germany.

Increased online trading is to serve as a replacement in the future.

There are a total of six Zara branches in Munich alone.

But that should soon be over, because the Spanish textile giant wants to concentrate more on individual, particularly profitable shops.

According to Spanish media reports, the group wants to close 1,200 stores as a result of this change.

It is not yet known whether and how many are affected in Germany.

The well-known brands Esprit, C&A and Tally Weijl are also implementing their savings plans and closing a number of branches.

The running shoe chain Runners Point, which is part of the Foot Locker retail group, was hit particularly hard.

The brand is completely pulped and all branches are closed.

Commerzbank and Sparkassen: Banks are also closing a number of branches

For Commerzbank customers, it is likely to be more difficult in the future to find a branch with on-site advice.

In future, the focus will be on online advice.

240 branches are to be closed by the end of the year and numerous ATMs will disappear with the branches.

It is similar with the savings banks.

President Helmut Schleweis told the

"There are still branches going down, especially the smaller ones." The

reason

for the decline in branches is primarily online banking.

Douglas, Depot, MediaMarkt: There are also changes here

The perfume giant Douglas is not spared from the death of shops.

A total of 60 Douglas branches are disappearing from German cities.

The perfumery chain announced this back in January.

The reason given here is again the ever-growing online trade.

But doing business on the Internet is of no use to the shop staff.

Around 600 Douglas employees lose their jobs as a result of the closings.

The decoration chain Depot is also running a tough austerity program and is joining the online ambitions of its competitors.

35 branches are to be closed by the end of 2021.

In mid-August, Ceconomy, the parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn, announced that it would close 13 branches.

Saturn in particular is said to be affected by the closings.

Boss Karsten Wildberger cites a change in strategy as the reason: “For a long time, the motto was: More space and more products lead to more customers and sales.

It's not that easy today. ”The consumer electronics stores are to be downsized in the future, which would also cut rental costs considerably.