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Entrance to the former Galeria branch in Leverkusen. Actually, Aachener was supposed to open its doors there soon

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

The fashion chain Aachener, which only this year moved into six abandoned Galeria locations, has run into financial difficulties. "We have filed for insolvency," said a spokeswoman for TEH Textilhandel, which holds the trademark rights to the Aachener fashion house, in Dortmund on Friday. The local court there has already appointed the lawyer Christoph Schulte-Kaubrügger as provisional insolvency administrator. Previously, several media outlets had reported on it.

The »Handelsblatt« quoted from a letter from the management to the workforce, which stated: »According to the current state of affairs, it is no longer guaranteed that we will still be able to pay due liabilities on time and in full.« In order to restore economic performance, a trip to the local court was unavoidable, according to the management.

According to the company, it has 355 employees and seven locations, to which six former Galeria stores with a new look were to be added – namely in Frankfurt, Saarbrücken, Cottbus, Coburg, Nuremberg and Leverkusen. These have already been rented after Galeria Kaufhof moved out, but have not yet opened – only a sports outlet opened on Frankfurt's Zeil shopping street as a temporary solution.

Fears of vacancy in the middle of the city

With the insolvency filing, it is questionable whether the former Galeria houses will reopen their doors or become what local politicians, retailers and residents fear: huge empty buildings in the heart of the city. The image and attractiveness of a city centre could suffer as a result. In the Leverkusen department store building, a poster was still hanging on the window on Friday, advertising a reopening in autumn 2023 - this plan could now be outdated.

According to the company, business operations in the existing stores are to be continued as smoothly as possible. For the former Galeria branches, a possible early opening is being examined. The management wants to preserve the opportunity to be able to restore the economic performance of TEH Textilhandel. The provisional insolvency administrator was confident and said he saw opportunities for restructuring. "The continuation of the operating business is secured for the time being."

BEB/dpa-AFX