The Austrian real estate investor wants to set up a global luxury department store chain with a Thai partner.
(Photo: Getty Images for Oberpollinger/ )
Dusseldorf The two sides of the trading world of the Austrian billionaire René Benko met unabated on Tuesday at the Carsch-Haus in Düsseldorf. Angry Galeria employees demonstrated in front of the former Kaufhof branch to keep their jobs and called on owner Benko to support them.
Inside, Benko’s Signa Group celebrated the ground-breaking ceremony for a complex project with 120 invited guests over canapés and drinks. The historic building is to be converted into the fourth department store of the KaDeWe Group at a cost of millions. Managing Director Michael Peterseim speaks of a “new era”, “we want to continue our successful concept here”.
Benko runs the KaDeWe Group with his main business partner, the Thai Central Group. Unlike the ailing Galeria, this one has no problem attracting customers to the department stores. And it’s trimmed for growth. It suits the real estate portfolio of the controversial self-made billionaire much better than most of the dreary Galeria houses.
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