What: Galeria is strengthening its management with a new Chief Transformation Officer and Transformation Management Office to drive its six-pillar recovery plan.
Why it is important: Galeria’s move highlights the need for centralised control, operational discipline and new space-use models in legacy department store turnarounds.
Galeria has appointed Manuel Farrokh as Chief Transformation Officer with immediate effect, strengthening its management as it pushes ahead with a strategic realignment. Farrokh, a partner at Düsseldorf-based consultancy Horn & Company, brings more than 20 years of experience in fashion and retail transformation, M&A and interim management. He will establish a Transformation Management Office and work with managing directors Tilo Hellenbock and Norman Krotten to coordinate Galeria’s turnaround. The aim is to increase centralised control and improve the speed and effectiveness of implementation. Hellenbock said the company has already defined its key areas for action and must now prioritise and execute agreed measures consistently. Galeria’s realignment rests on six pillars: an economically viable store network, a more customer-facing assortment, higher sales per square metre through new partnership and usage concepts, a modernised customer approach via Galeria Plus and Payback, a more efficient logistics structure and a leaner cost base across operations.
IADS Notes: Galeria’s appointment of Manuel Farrokh as Chief Transformation Officer reflects the urgency of turning restructuring plans into disciplined execution. In June 2026, Fashion Network reported that Galeria had secured up to €160 million in inventory-backed financing to support a three-year restructuring plan, refinance debt, fund merchandise and review its 83-store network, with around 30 locations considered at risk. Modaes reported in April 2026 that Bain Capital had provided a €10 million emergency loan, underlining the retailer’s liquidity pressure and the risk of further closures if lease negotiations failed. Retail Detail’s April 2026 coverage of Galeria’s rent deferral requests showed how landlord negotiations, fixed real estate costs and weak consumer demand remain central to the turnaround. The focus on sales per square metre also mirrors La Revue du Digital’s April 2026 report on Galeries Lafayette using advanced data analytics to optimise profitability by brand, store and floor. More broadly, Retail Detail’s January 2026 coverage of De Bijenkorf’s reorganisation showed how European department stores are relying on leadership renewal, operational agility and customer-experience improvements to remain viable.

Galeria appoints Chief Transformation Officer