In the debate about fresh government aid for the stricken department store giant, the North Rhine-Westphalian Economics Minister, Mona Neubaur, spoke out in favor of the involvement of the Galeria owner, Rene Benko.
"Yes, I think it's Mr. Benko's turn to also give in capital," said Neubaur on Wednesday evening before the "Business Journalists' Association" in Düsseldorf.
According to insiders, the ailing last large German department store group had submitted a new application for state aid.
It was only in January that the federal government supported the company with a further 220 million euros, and in 2021 Galeria had agreed on a loan of 460 million euros with the federal government.
At Galeria, future prospects must be discussed seriously, demanded Neubaur.
The department store giant should not become a bottomless pit.
At the same time, she thinks it's "not a good idea to say now that we're going to let Galeria go bankrupt".
Retail plays a central role in inner cities.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof belongs to the Signa Holding of the Austrian real estate investor Benko.
Among other things, it has a real estate portfolio worth billions.
The department store giant emerged in 2019 from the merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof operated by Benko.
The group - like the entire retail trade - is currently feeling the effects of the clearly dampened consumer mood caused by high inflation and rising energy prices.
Galeria had already made a high loss in the 2020/21 financial year.
According to the annual report, the management also expected the 2021/22 financial year, which ended at the end of September, to be in the red.