Aachener to acquire Galeria department store chain

Businessman Friedrich Goebel is considering the purchase of a significant number of department stores.

Businessman Friedrich Goebel, the founder of the multi-brand chain Aachener, is considering the possibility of acquiring a significant number of department stores of the German chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof.

Earlier it was reported that the owners of Galeria plan to sell 90 out of 130 operating department stores. The retailer hopes to overcome the financial crisis by reducing the number of sites and optimizing the withering business. Recent negotiations with a potential buyer, the owner of the online store buero.de Markus Schoen, have yet to come to anything.

The Aachener chain was launched at the turn of 2021-2022. The company currently operates six department stores, three of which are located on the site of former Galeria branches. How many stores the owner of Aachener may buy has yet to be discovered.

Market participants agree that Galeria’s business needs more precise positioning and congestion in the number of retail units. The retailer’s financial problems intensified during the pandemic, and help from the government was not enough. At the end of last year, the company received protection from creditors.

Meanwhile, Galeria’s Inno-branded business in Belgium has been successfully growing apart from its parent company. The retail chain, which has 15 department stores in the country’s largest cities, has successfully completed its renovation and ended 2022 with a profit.