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In the negotiations for the merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof, only a few branches are available. "Three to five locations would probably be closed during a merger," said a person familiar with the negotiations of the German news agency. Both owners are interested in preserving as many department stores as possible and making them profitable. Kaufhof currently operates in Germany 96 department stores (including Oldenburg, Bremen and Osnabrück), Karstadt 82 (U.a. in Bremen and Bremerhaven).
Kaufhof did not comment on the information on Thursday. Karstadt was initially inaccessible for notice
The Canadian owner of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the Austrian owner of Karstadt, Rene Benko, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday. According to the information provided by the trading circles, it provides for the integration of Kaufhof, Karstadt and Karstadt Sport into a joint venture, ie a joint venture
The joint venture should also include the HBC department stores in Belgium and the Netherlands. ", Reported the" Süddeutsche Zeitung "(Thursday) .The brand Galeria Kaufhof is to be maintained for the time being.The acquisition could be completed by the end of July, but not later than the next four to six weeks.
According to a report from "Wirtschaftswoche", the article titled "Agreement on a merger of equals in European department stores" .But it was quite clear that in a merger, operational management of the company would be in Karstadt, it was said by the trading circles. "But we are still far from an agreement that can once again blow up everyone," he says in circles.
The owner of Karstadt, Benko, has dreamed for years to integrate the main competitor of his empire.But his attempts to acquire Kaufhof had failed several times in recent years.
In a merger, the participants waiting to be able to redact the costs in administration and purchasing. More significant reductions would only be possible due to the larger quantities that a merged group would receive. A standardization of the range would also create greater power for buyers. If, for example, there are currently different suppliers for the two department stores for a product, they will eventually fight not to take flight, which is the hope of Karstadt and Kaufhof
. The employees were asked to contribute to a merger, according to the statements of the trading circles had not been part of the discussions. Currently, Kaufhof employees are paid according to the collective agreement because Karstadt is a collective agreement with less favorable terms. Currently, the "Verdi" union is talking to Kaufhof about a restructuring collective agreement. The union now demands clear clarity from the owners of both chains of department stores
A decision on the location of a possible joint head office has not yet fallen under the control of dpa information. Kaufhof is headquartered in Cologne, Karstadt controls its activities from headquarters in Essen.
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