galeria kaufhaus Archives

Again, the Berlin department store scene suddenly got smaller. Another big retailer is closing the doors. Galeria Kaufhaus in Alexanderplatz will go dark at the end of 2025. According to local papers, property owner Commerz Real wants to develop the property as a mixed use location of apartments and small shops for the Mitte. What the heck is going on? After years of struggling with bad management, falling foot traffic, Galeria Kaufhaus’ new owners hoped for a fresh start reviving the fortunes of the 145 year old chain. Those plans took a setback on Friday afternoon. Rumours circulated the six floor flagship brick and mortar locale was being considered for other uses. After heated negotiations, the owners decided not to renew the lease of the prominent retail outlet.

As a frequent shopper, I am a bit sad GK is closing. The Kaufhaus sat on a transport crossroad of bus, metro, train, tram and bike. Although it is not my idea emporium, I found it easy to pop in now and again to browse or buy a gift. The houseware section offers a nice selection. Secondly, the sweets and beauty selection always have goods on special offers. Berlin’s City East will feel a bit empty in 2026.

Is the department store going the way of the Dodo Bird in Germany? Once these temples to consumption were places of dreams offering shoppers the best of the best. Those days are long gone. As the retail carnage continues, once mighty shopping temples have fallen silent.

In Berlin, the department store culture slow death is sad to watch. Germany’s two largest chains Karstadt, founded in 1881, and Galeria Kaufhaus, 1889, formed Galeria Karstadt Kaufhaus from a 2018 merger. The two struggling stores fell far due to inconsistent management strategies, asset stripping, covid, bankruptcies and of course, shoppers’ migration to online platforms. After years of struggling, the new owners decided to jettison fifty-two locations by this summer. Let’s hope the current proprietors will invest in updating their remaining eighty-two mouldy locales.

Speaking of July 31^st, Berlin’s Galeries Lafayette will permanently close its stylish 9000 square meter Friedrichstrasse location after twenty-years. The French retailer cited changing commercial dynamics for the decision. In this writer’s opinion, the store was in the wrong location anchoring a decaying Zombie Mall.