The Thai business group Central Group takes over the business activities of the KaDeWe Group. A corresponding contract includes the department stores Oberpollinger (Munich) and Alsterhaus (Hamburg).
According to a press release, Central Group is still discussing the exact conditions with the landlords of the houses in Munich and Hamburg. Central had already acquired the Kaufhaus des Westens building in Berlin for one billion euros in April.
Even before the complete takeover of the business activities, Central owned 50.1 percent of the KaDeWe Group, the remaining 49.1 percent belonged to the collapsed Signa business network of the Tyrolean investor René Benko. The group filed for bankruptcy in January, but operations in the department stores continue.
Supermarkets, hotels and restaurants
The Kaufhaus des Westens opened in 1907 and was a symbol of consumption and purchasing power in the post-war period. It has over 60,000 square meters of retail space and luxury goods. Today, not only people interested in the goods, but also thousands of tourists come to the building.
The Central Group, which is now taking over the business operations, is a group owned by the Chirathivat family, one of the richest families in Thailand. The business magazine Forbes estimated her wealth in 2023 at 12.4 billion dollars (corresponding to 11.4 billion euros). The Bangkok-based group operates supermarkets, department store chains, hotels and restaurants. Abroad, she is involved with La Rinascente in Italy, Selfridges in Great Britain and Globus in Switzerland.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
