{
  "id": 11395622,
  "title": "Einzelhandel: Galeria stellt abermals Insolvenzantrag",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/einzelhandel-galeria-stellt-abermals-insolvenzantrag",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-02T08:01:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/einzelhandel-galeria-stellt-abermals-insolvenzantrag/100259252.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Warenhauskette Galeria has once again filed for bankruptcy protection at the Düsseldorf Regional Court. The company operates 83 stores, which for now will continue to run, the company informed Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The application creates the legal framework to organize the current situation, stabilize the business and create conditions for a sustainable future, Galeria stated in a statement. The company declined to provide further details on the background. Around 12,000 employees now face uncertainty about their jobs. It remains unclear whether they will receive bankruptcy compensation, which stores will close, or both. This is the fourth bankruptcy application in six years for Galeria, with numerous stores closed following previous proceedings. Several landlords have already complained about delayed rent payments. In April 2026, several landlords filed complaints about delayed rent payments. The management cited liquidity fluctuations and acknowledged that they had requested a rent moratorium. Only in June did the company receive new credit financing of up to €160 million from Gordon Brothers, a US investment firm. The credit line is secured by Galeria's assets and tied to a three-year rehabilitation plan that includes further closures. In July, Galeria announced that it would review 33 stores and negotiate rent terms with landlords. Without viable solutions, the continuation of each individual store is at risk, the company said. All stores must become profitable in the long run. A decision on the fate of the stores has not yet been made. The retail crisis according to the retail research institute EHI, the company's sales have been declining in recent years, even with the store closures. In 2019, with 174 stores, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof achieved a net sales turnover of €4.5 billion, compared to just €2 billion with fewer than half the number of stores six years later. The importance of department stores in retail has sharply decreased in recent years, with their market share falling from 4.2% in 2020 to 1.2% last. This decline includes other retail chains like Müller and Woolworth, alongside Galeria. While there are smaller players such as Breuninger, the KaDeWe group, and Kaufhaus Stolz, the end of classic department stores would signal the end of an era. Many insolvencies in the sector are a result of weak consumer sentiment and growing online retail. The trade insurance company Allianz Trade reported that the number of retail insolvencies reached a ten-year high between June 2025 and May 2026, with nearly 2,600 retailers filing for bankruptcy. Other prominent cases include discounter Kodi and Mäc Geiz, which closed numerous stores, as well as the home improvement chain Depot and the hardware store Hellweg. In recent years, tens of thousands of businesses across Germany have closed, not just due to insolvencies. According to a forecast from the German Retail Association, the number of stores could drop to under 300,000 this year. At the end of 2015, there were still around 372,000.",
  "summary": "Die bislang letzte Insolvenz liegt erst gut zweieinhalb Jahre zurück. Nun ist die Warenhauskette Galeria schon wieder in finanzielle Not geraten.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Der Standard Wirtschaft",
        "title": "Deutsche Warenhauskette Galeria stellt erneut Insolvenzantrag",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/deutsche-warenhauskette-galeria-stellt-erneut-insolvenzantrag",
        "published": "2026-10-02T09:39:18.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}