Having warned employees to expect layoffs in a letter last week, the Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof department store chain has now revealed that it will be closing nearly half of its 170 stores across Germany. It’s the latest development in a slow collapse of a traditional retailer that’s been fatally damaged first by the changes in retail brought on by the rise of ecommerce, but more recently by the coronavirus crisis. In April, the company filed for court protection from its creditors as it carried out a restructuring process. The new round of store closings is expected to result in the loss of 5,000 jobs. Karstadt Kaufhof’s restructuring plan is due in court for approval by June. Two of the company’s brands are also facing extinction. Twenty of its 30 Karstadt-Sports stores have been closed, while its travel agency subsidiary Atrys has also closed down 100 of its 130 branches.
