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Cologne / Bonn –
NRW Minister of the Economy, Andreas Pinkwart (FDP), has described as "good news" the decision of the cartel office to publish the merger between Karstadt and Kaufhof Minister. It then badumes that the company takes into account the concerns of employees in their decisions: "We will pay special attention in the weeks and months to come and maintain close relations with all concerned," said Pinkwart .
As part of its investigation, the Bundeskartellamt surveyed some 100 trading companies and traders, including the largest online retailers and physical retailers. The categories of luggage (bags / bags), linen, sports / outdoor, games / toys, home and office textiles and stationery were examined in more detail. The position of Kaufhof and Karstadt on the market is the strongest in these categories, the office justifies its selection. According to the investigation, which was completed earlier than planned, the merger "did not raise any competition concerns that could justify a ban on the project".
The merger should take place later this month – and so in time for the Christmas market. The Karstadt dam, Signa, will hold a 50.01% stake in the new joint venture, HBC 49.99%. Stephan Fanderl, a well-known business expert, took over the management of the new Warenhaus AG and renovated and managed Karstadt. The new giant of department stores, with a turnover of nearly 5 billion euros behind the Spanish chain El Corte Inglés, number two in Europe. The new company employs 32,000 people at 243 sites in Europe.
The pooling of purchasing power could allow Kaufhof and Karstadt to negotiate better terms than before with their suppliers. In addition, according to industry experts in administration, data processing and logistics, the savings could be greater. It has not yet been decided whether the future head offices in Cologne (Kaufhof) or Essen (Karstadt) will be.
It is also unclear how many jobs will be lost in the new venture. Austrian Austrian billionaire René Benko, who bought Karstadt for one euro in 2014, described as "irresponsible" the speculation that up to 5,000 jobs would be threatened.
In many cities, there is always trouble. Afraid of branch closures and badociated with desolation of the city centers. But with a wave of closures right after the takeover, we probably do not expect. According to the experts, the costs would be too high given the leases, which often last for decades.
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