Anyone who has followed my blog posts over the past few years knows my opinion of Galeria.
In 2020, 2022, 2024, and now 2026, the chain has filed for insolvency. Numerous stores have been closed. Employees are worried about their jobs, while creditors are left stuck with their claims or waive them.
Yes, these things can happen, but the same story every two years? Back in 2024, I already said that it would be better if they finally drew a line under it for good. Sure—12,000 jobs are at stake, and they are paying the price, as always, for management's mistakes.
Quite apart from that: The days of these consumer palaces have been over for a long time ... but I've been writing that again and again for years now, too.
The importance of department stores and general-merchandise stores in retail has declined sharply in recent years. According to the retail research institute EHI, their market share has fallen from 4.2 percent in 2020 to just 1.2 percent most recently. In addition to Galeria, these figures include the retail chains Müller and Woolworth, among others. There are still smaller providers such as Breuninger, the KaDeWe Group, and Kaufhaus Stolz. However, Galeria's closure would also mark the end of the era of classic department stores.
That's what I'm saying!
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