Galeries Lafayette announces end for Berlin department store

The only German branch of French department store chain Galeries Lafayette will close at the end of 2024 after almost 30 years. The lease for the branch on Friedrichstraße in Berlin with property owner Tishman Speyer will not be renewed, the department store announced on Wednesday. Operations will cease once the lease expires at the end of 2024. Employee representatives were informed of the move on Wednesday.

The department store will make every effort to support the shop's 190 employees throughout the process, it added. The announcement to close the shop was "a consequence of changing consumer habits in Germany and significant changes in the city's retail market," the company wrote in the statement.

The plans do not come as a surprise. It has long been known that the lease expires at the end of next year. Galeries Lafayette repeatedly stressed in recent weeks that it was currently in negotiations with the owner about an extension of the contract.

Owner not interested in solution

However, the owner, US property developer Tishman Speyer, has always stressed it was not interested in a solution for the department store beyond 2024.

Now the department store has also given up hope of a deal. There are already advanced plans for its next use: Berlin senator for culture Joe Chialo (CDU) wants to house the Central and State Library in the building. The issue was controversially discussed in the Culture Committee this week. The plan depends on funding. Parliament has to approve it.

A new location for the library has been sought for years. The two locations at Blücherplatz and Breite Straße have become too small and are also in urgent need of renovation.

Meanwhile, with the Galeries Lafayette, a central attraction for Berliners and tourists in Friedrichstraße is disappearing. In 1996, the department store moved into the building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. Besides fashion and jewellery, many visitors are attracted by the restaurant and gourmet section downstairs. It is one of the French chain's few branches outside its home country.(DPA)

This article previously appeared on FashionUnited.DE. Translation by Rachel Douglass.