Insolvency proceedings opened against Galeria

The court in Essen, Germany, has opened insolvency proceedings for the last major German department store chain Galeria. The court gave the green light to the self-management process, after the restructuring plan was filed with the court on time, the company said. The department store giant’s owner is Austrian investor René Benko’s multibillion-dollar Signa Holding.

The management can now continue with the restructuring of the Galeria company. The restructuring concept envisages a repositioning of Galeria with a product offering that is more closely aligned with local needs. This also includes the integration of mobile, online and branch purchases. But it is still unclear what the branch network will look like in the future.