Karstadt is preparing to take control of Kaufhof – Wirtschaft

Karstadt's owner, René Benko, has been trying for years to merge with the troubled Kaufhof chain. Why could it work this time?

Karstadt is about to take the direction of Galeria Kaufhof. The two brand names remain for the information of the Süddeutsche Zeitung initially. The approximately 37,000 jobs at the European Warenhaus AG, which also includes the Kaufhof HBC owner's department stores in Belgium and the Netherlands, will be largely retained.

Stephan Fanderl, head of Karstadt and Signa Retail, Signa Holding branch of Austrian René Benko, is managing the joint venture. The head of the supervisory board is now the current supervisor of Kaufhof, Bernd Beetz

Signa on Tuesday signed with the Canadian parent company Kaufhof, the Hudson 's Bay Company (HBC), a contract of. 200 pages packaging

. The agreement is negotiated as a whole, "he said in trading circles.Necessary is now still a confirmation of the books (due diligence) .The acquisition should be completed by the end July, but not later than the next four to six weeks.

Reports that fifteen or 16 branches of the merger will be victims, according to the company circles incorrectly

The agreement provides that Signa For about 100 million euros, 51% of Kaufhof department stores take over and without bank debt.These have to be covered by HBC for about 200 million euros for tax reasons. totaling between 700 and 800 million euros, Signa also participates in the real estate company HBS Global Properties of HBC, which includes 41 properties Kaufhof in Germany.The commercial real estate, especially in the city centers, is currently very much in dema nde

Reports that fifteen or sixteen stores will be affected by the merger are false according to the business community. In the end, only a few could be closed – there are three or five deficient branches. On the other hand, new locations could also be created, as is currently the case with Karstadt. Crucial is the question of whether the respective branch has a real chance of becoming profitable. Kaufhof currently operates 96 department stores in Germany, Karstadt 82.

In the case of a merger, Kaufhof and Karstadt merge logistics and IT purchases in order to reduce costs and buy cheaper from manufacturers thanks to the doubled purchase volume can. In addition, the discount battles between Kaufhof and Karstadt would have ended. The goal is to keep the best employees in the merger. Where the new department store company will have its headquarters, is still a matter of negotiation. In addition to Cologne, (Kaufhof), Essen (Karstadt) would come as a "neutral" place also Dusseldorf in question. HBC would be in favor of closing the food.

The question of whether large-scale layoffs are one of the most thorny issues of the proposed merger. The company committees of Kaufhof and the German Association of Cities vehemently rejected a merger with the argument, and then a "bloodbath" would occur, said the chairman of the committee. Company, Uwe Hoepfel, a few weeks ago. On the other hand, department store experts point out that it is unlikely that current leases will provide for mbadive leases.

With regard to the future payment of Kaufhof employees, anything is possible, from the collective agreement to the maintenance of the collective agreement. At present, Karstadt pays his employees at the house rate and therefore worse than Kaufhof employees. However, since last November, Kaufhof management has been pressuring the Verdi union to pbad mbadive wage cuts as part of a collective restructuring agreement. From the trade union point of view, however, the negotiations are still pending as the owners of Kaufhof and Karstadt are still negotiating a merger.

As the example of Karstadt shows, a merger does not automatically mean a reduction. Fanderl has managed to change the social perspective of Karstadt. The former bankruptcy company is now again profitable and opens new branches, while Kaufhof, after the takeover of HBC, is suffering losses. These totaled more than 100 million euros in Kaufhof during the past financial year. In addition, HBC burns money every day. That's why HBC approached Signa a few weeks ago after a long, clear defensive stance and sought the conversation. Kaufhof is on the brink of bankruptcy.

As Fanderl's recovery in Karstadt was successful, Signa could now save the jobs of Kaufhof employees. Insiders want to have already heard the first signals from commercial credit insurers, in the event of a takeover by Signa Kaufhof loans again fully secure.

Uncertainty remains: Although in principle between Signa and HBC all under roof, but it is not excluded that the case still bursts in the end. It was only in February that HBC rejected an offer to buy 3 billion euros from Benko for Kaufhof, including real estate. Other volts in the saga "Warenhaus AG" are not excluded.