Galeries Lafayette to Shutter Berlin Store
PARIS — Galeries Lafayette announced Thursday it would shutter its Berlin department store after 28 years in operation.
Attributing the decision to “changing consumption habits in Germany and the very considerable shift in the city’s retail market,” the company told social partners it would not renew the lease with property owner Tishman Speyer on its Friedrichstrasse store when it runs out at the end of 2024.
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The retail giant’s chief executive officer Nicolas Houzé stated the company “no longer believe Galeries Lafayette is well suited to operate in [the German] market” owing to “the profound transformation Berlin has undergone in recent years, which has affected the retail environment in the city and led to the emergence of new players.”
Located in a glass-fronted building designed by Jean Nouvel, the Berlin Galeries Lafayette opened in 1996 and was the French company’s first foray outside of France. Located in the city’s central Mitte district, it boasted more than 88,000 square feet of selling space on four floors and included a food hall.
The store’s 190 employees will be made redundant, with the French retailer committing to working with employee representatives to support those affected by the closure.
Berlin’s planned closure is a further step in Galeries Lafayette’s geographical shift, as it plans to open 20 stores outside France by 2025, with a focus on China, Asia and the Middle East.
It recently unveiled a 48,000-square-foot store in Shenzhen, in a joint venture with Hong Kong-listed real estate operator Hopson Group.
A store in Mumbai is slated to open in 2024, through a partnership agreement with local fashion group Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd., with further plans for a New Delhi store.
The group also opened stores in Doha, Qatar; Luxembourg, and Shanghai, in 2019. Its outposts in Beijing and Shanghai are run with partner I.T Limited, and Galeries Lafayette has announced further projects in Macau and Chongqing. The group aims to have 10 stores in China by 2025.
Earlier this year, Galeries Lafayette also said it was in exclusive talks to sell the historic BHV Marais department store to Groupe SGM (which stands for Société des Grands Magasins), a family-owned firm specializing in city-center retail.
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