As of: February 12, 2024, 5:10 a.m
By: Nadja Hoffmann
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Split
Insolvent since the end of January: the Oberpollinger in the pedestrian zone.
© Peter Kneffel
The consequences of the bankruptcy are now visible: some stores in the Signa luxury department store Oberpollinger are empty, others have stopped selling.
Customers are given a strange reason for this.
Munich – Anyone who enters Oberpollinger immediately finds themselves in a glittering world: Prada, Gucci & Co. entice with their luxury goods, jewelers like Bulgari offer sparkling gemstones for sale.
Bright colors everywhere, friendly faces everywhere.
A luxury dream, but the backdrop is now cracking.
The Oberpollinger in February 2024 also includes shops that are separated from the rest with barrier tape.
And abandoned areas that have already been cleared out.
The department store, which belongs to the Signa Group, is insolvent.
This truth is slowly seeping into the temple of consumerism.
The flight of luxury brands is taking place not only in Munich, but also in Berlin.
There, the Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), is another consumer temple designed by René Benko in Germany.
The operating company KaDeWe-Group did not comment on the flight of luxury brands when asked by Merkur.
Sales of goods no longer possible for “technical reasons”?
What is striking at both locations is the approach: individual shops cease operations overnight.
Then it is cordoned off and a sign is put up: “For technical reasons,” it is unfortunately not possible to sell goods at the XY brand at the moment.
A piece of information that seems strange.
Finally, the insolvency of the KaDeWe Group made headlines at the end of January.
In addition, Signa-Prime, which owns the buildings, is also bankrupt.
Already moved out: the Munich fashion brand Bogner.
© Popa
Basically, the chic Oberpollinger works with a so-called shop-in-shop system.
This means that the 843 luxury brands are offered under the Signa umbrella, but not by a Benko company itself.
The Munich fashion brand Bogner is one of the retailers who have already cleared out their shop.
Spokeswoman Katharina Hofmann asks for your understanding that we will not comment on ongoing proceedings with business partners such as the KaDeWe Group.
But she also says: “We are following current developments closely and are in close contact with our contacts there.
As is usual in an insolvency case, we are working on a joint solution.”
The Schiesser laundry company is even clearer.
“Due to their insolvency, our sales areas in the houses of the KaDeWe Group are not stocked with our goods until a legally valid regulation for their continued operation is made,” are the candid words of CEO Andreas Lindemann.
There is another bitter surprise for regular customers at Oberpollinger: the usual champagne vouchers can no longer be redeemed.
At least for now.