Galeries Lafayette to close Berlin store

French department store group Galeries Lafayette is set to close down the first European branch it opened outside France in 1996. In a press release, the group announced that its Berlin store in the Mitte district will close by the end of 2024. Galeries Lafayette does not wish to renew the lease for the Jean Nouvel-designed building, owned by real estate developer Tishman Speyer. The reason being that “consumer expectations in Germany” have evolved, and there has been a “very significant change in the city’s commercial dynamics.”

 
The group’s industrial relations partners were informed of the planned closure on October 4. The 9,000 square-metre store is located on Friedrichstrasse and has 190 employees, who risk loosing their jobs.
 
Nicolas Houzé, CEO of Galeries Lafayette, said he had “learned a lot, and very much appreciated the opportunity of being able to offer the best in French art of living to our German customers for nearly 30 years. But given Berlin’s profound transformation in recent years, which has changed the city’s commercial dynamics and allowed new players to emerge, we feel out of place in the city. As a responsible employer, we will do all that is necessary to best support all employees involved in the project.”

According to German media, the Berlin authorities are considering acquiring the building to base the city’s central library there.
 
Outside of France Galeries Lafayette will only have one store left in Europe in Luxembourg. The group operates a dozen other branches with retail partners around the world, in the Middle East (Dubai and Doha), and notably Asia (in Jakarta, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, among others). Galeries Lafayette is focusing its expansion efforts on this continent, with openings planned in Macau, Chongqing, Mumbai and New Delhi in the coming years.