Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof gets a new boss

The badly hit department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof gets a new boss. After the end of the current insolvency proceedings, the former Kaufhof boss Olivier van den Bossche is to take over the management of the last large German department store group, as the company announced on Thursday. After three years at the head of the group, the previous Galeria boss Miguel Müllenbach is moving to the management of the Galeria parent company Signa Retail. He will also sit on the Galeria supervisory board in the future. The group expects the insolvency proceedings to be completed in early May.

"As Galeria sales manager and former Kaufhof CEO, Olivier van den Bossche is predestined like no other for a new start after the protective shield has been successfully ended," said Galeria supervisory board chairman Wolfram Keil.

For van den Bossche it is already the second chance to prove himself at the head of a German department store group. Between 2014 and 2017, he managed the fortunes of the then independent department store chain Kaufhof for two and a half years. He later worked for the Dutch cosmetics supplier Rituals and returned to the department store sector in June of last year as the new head of sales at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof.

Galeria Supervisory Board Chairman Keil thanked Müllenbach for his tireless commitment and belief in the future viability of the inner-city department store. Müllenbach emphasized that he sees his task at the department store group as done: "Once the process is complete, I see Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof in such a position that I can hand it over to my colleague Olivier Van den Bossche with a clear conscience."

At the end of October, Galeria had to seek rescue in protective shield insolvency proceedings for the second time in less than three years. At the time, CEO Müllenbach cited the exploding energy prices and the slump in consumption in Germany as the reason for the company's threatening situation.