KaDeWe Group explained

KaDeWe Group GmbH is a group of three department stores in Germany with around 4,000 employees.^[1] It is owned by the Thai Central Group.

• KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) in Berlin
• Oberpollinger in Munich
• Alsterhaus in Hamburg

History

The group was founded in 2014 by Signa Holding (at the time owner of German department store Galeria Kaufhof) and for a short period was also owned by Beny Steinmetz. In 2015 Central Group (who own a plethora of department stores in Asia and Europe) acquired a stake in the company.^[2]

The construction of a new department store titled Lamarr (after actress Hedy Lamarr) was announced in 2022 to be built in Vienna.^[3] However as of 2024 after the bankruptcy of Signa the project is for sale and no longer part of the group after Central purchased the company in 2024.^[4]

In 2023 Signa Holding filed for bankruptcy and in mid-2024 Central Group purchased 100% of the company.^{[5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: The KaDeWe Group (Alsterhaus, KaDeWe, Oberpollinger) . IGDS . en.
2. News: KaDeWe Has Been Handed to a New Owner . 11 January 2024 . www.berlinglobal.org . en.
3. Web site: Dong . Irene . 2022-11-09 . Central Group unveils Lamarr luxury department store planned for Vienna . 2024-08-08 . Inside Retail Asia . en-US.
4. Web site: Signa's Major Project . 2024-08-08 . Vindobona.org Vienna International News . en.
5. Web site: 29 December 2023 . Signa Development files for insolvency with $1.3 bln in debts -KSV . 8 August 2024 . Reuters.
6. Web site: Conti . Samantha . 2024-08-01 . Central Group Takes Full Control of KaDeWe Stores in Germany, Names Timo Weber CEO . 2024-08-08 . WWD . en-US.