Central Group acquires business operations of KaDeWe Group

According to the information, the contract is still subject to, among other things, antitrust issues. In Munich and Hamburg, Central is negotiating with Signa's insolvency administrator Torsten Martini over the lease of 20,000 square meters in the Alsterhaus and 30,000 square meters in Oberbollinger. According to the Senate, Central acquired the KaDeWe building in Berlin in April for 1 billion euros.

Even before the full acquisition of the operating business, Central owned 50.1 percent of the KaDeWe Group. 49.9 percent of the collapsed Signa network belonged to Tyrolean investor Rene Benko. In January, the group filed a request to declare the Autonomous Administration bankrupt. However, business operations continue at major stores.

Central Group is a conglomerate owned by the Chirathivat family, one of the richest families in Thailand. Forbes estimated its wealth at $12.4 billion (11.4 billion euros) in 2023. The Bangkok-based group operates supermarkets, department store chains, hotels and restaurants. In addition to its shares in department stores in Germany, Central Group has interests abroad in, among others, La Rinascente in Italy, Selfridges in Great Britain, and Globus in Switzerland.

The KaDeWe (“Store of the West”) store, which opened in 1907, became a symbol of postwar consumption and purchasing power. It contains 60 thousand square meters of shopping space in the center of the capital. In addition to lovers of luxury goods, thousands of tourists also head to the famous building every day. Opened in 1905, Oberpollinger bills itself today as a department store, also geared toward an international clientele. Then-Prince Charles and Lady Diana took a look at the Alsterhaus department store, which opened in 1912 as Hermann Tietz's department store. According to the company, the three homes achieved sales worth 728 million euros in the 2022/2023 financial year. The largest revenue generator is KaDeWe.