Branch office of Kaufhof in Mannheim up for sale once more
The Galeria Kaufhof department store branch in Mannheim's Paradeplatz square is once again up for sale, with the bidding process having concluded on August 8th at 12:00 PM. The current bid winner for the entire property has not been publicly identified, but the "Woll House Indoor Play Zone" has been confirmed as the new tenant for the Kaufhof basement.
The Woll House Indoor Play Zone is an indoor playground for children, spanning over 3,000 square meters on the former Kaufhof space [2]. This news follows the approval of an insolvency plan on May 31, 2024, which called for the closure of 16 branches nationwide, including the Mannheim Paradeplatz branch, due to the financial struggles of the Galeria department store chain.
The chain has been grappling with competition from online retailers like Amazon and Zalando, as well as clothing chains like Zara. Last year, Galeria slipped back into financial difficulties after its former owner, the Signa Holding of Austrian investor René Benko, went bankrupt.
Bernd Beetz, who is also known in Mannheim as the president and patron of the SV Waldhof Mannheim football club, has been the current operator of the Galeria chain. However, key tenant Rewe pulled out of contract negotiations with the property's manager, Scheuermann, "for economic reasons". Consequently, Scheuermann's concept was no longer feasible, and the insolvency administrator put the property up for sale through a bidding process.
Egon Scheuermann, a Mannheim real estate investor, had initially seemed to be the saviour of the Paradeplatz branch, having submitted a "ready-to-sign" offer to the insolvency administrator in the spring of 2024. The identity of the new basement tenant and the amount of Scheuermann's bid have not been disclosed.
The bidding process for the Kaufhof property was managed by the real estate agent Luhrmann from Düsseldorf. The management has recently complained about high rental payments, which may have contributed to the financial difficulties faced by Galeria.
The winner of the bidding process for the entire Kaufhof property is yet to be announced, starting from August 11th. The focus so far has been on the new use of the basement area, but the future of the department store in Mannheim's city centre remains uncertain.
Sources: [1] "Galeria Kaufhof in Mannheim: Woll House Indoor Play Zone bezieht den Keller." Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 8 Aug. 2024. Web. 9 Aug. 2024. [2] "Galeria Kaufhof in Mannheim: Woll House Indoor Play Zone bezieht den Keller." Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 8 Aug. 2024. Web. 9 Aug. 2024.
The news of Woll House Indoor Play Zone leasing the Galeria Kaufhof basement space underscores the potential shift in the retail business, as traditional department stores grapple with the rise of online retailers and changing consumer preferences. The bidding process for the whole Kaufhof property, overseen by real estate agent Luhrmann from Düsseldorf, indicates a transitional period for the real-estate industry, particularly in the city center of Mannheim. The identity of the bid winner and the future of the department store remain uncertain, hinting at possible investments and redevelopment plans in the finance sector for Mannheim's Paradeplatz.
