There is good news for the employees of Karstadt on the Zeil: the department store will not have to close its doors for good at the end of October as planned. In June, it had been decided that the store on Frankfurt's shopping mile would also have to close, as one of 62 out of a total of 172 Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof GmbH stores. Despite protests, which were also joined by Frankfurt's mayor Peter Feldmann and Hesse's prime minister Volker Bouffier, it seemed for a long time that the closure was inevitable. For the 240 or so employees, this would have meant the loss of their jobs. This could now be averted with the help of politics and the city.
Another reason that the doors in the traditional house remain open is an agreement with the landlord on more favorable rental conditions. Thus, the continued existence of Karstadt on the Zeil is now to be secured until at least 2025. This is not only really good news for the employees. The rescue of the Karstadt store should also be positive for the city of Frankfurt, as a closure on the Zeil would have left a noticeable gap from which the surrounding retail trade would probably also have suffered.
The Corona crisis has cost Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof GmbH, which was already struggling with financial problems before the outbreak of the pandemic, around 500 million euros. This had made the announced closures necessary. The fact that the cutbacks are now ultimately not quite as drastic as initially announced is to be seen as absolutely positive, even if the loss of the stores that could not be saved is nevertheless enormous for city centers and shopping malls.
