What: Austrian investor Georg Stumpf has acquired the unfinished "Lamarr" luxury department store project in Vienna from the insolvent Signa Group.

Why it is important: This acquisition marks a significant development in Vienna's retail landscape, potentially transforming a high-profile, yet incomplete, project into a new commercial venture, while also highlighting the ongoing restructuring within the Signa Group's assets.

Austrian investor Georg Stumpf has taken over the "Lamarr" project, an unfinished luxury department store located on one of Vienna's prime shopping streets. The project was initially developed by the now-insolvent Signa Group, led by entrepreneur René Benko, and was modelled after Berlin's renowned KaDeWe department store. The acquisition by the Stumpf Group is pending approval from the insolvency court, with no disclosed purchase price. Originally, the Lamarr was intended to house both a luxury department store operated by the KaDeWe Group and a hotel. However, the Stumpf Group has not yet revealed its plans for the building's future use. A new concept is being developed in collaboration with the City of Vienna. This transaction is part of a broader shift in ownership within Signa's portfolio, as the Thai conglomerate Central Group has already taken over operations of KaDeWe and other major department stores in Germany. The potential involvement of Central Group in the Lamarr project remains uncertain.

Austrian investor acquires Vienna's unfinished luxury department store