Galeria Kaufhof of Germany has placed itself under the protection of the bankruptcy law to help it survive. The group was apparently losing 80 million euros per week and has declared itself unable to pay rent. The bankruptcy law places the company under protection from creditors and the application has been granted by Essen District Court. Management of Kaufhof which employs 28000 people will attempt to restructure the company. IT has applied for government aid as well as help from banks but these latter have been too slow. The recent merger with Karstadt represented some hope for restructuring, but the closing of stores because of the virus epidemic has been the last straw. Owner René Benko has said he will provide financial help.

See article translated from German :

Galeria Kaufhof under bankruptcy protection