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Real supermarket in Dusseldorf

Photo: Michael Gstettenbauer / IMAGO

The ailing supermarket chain Real is on the verge of going out of business. The company is selling several stores to competitors and plans to close the last stores by the end of March 2024. As Real announced in Mönchengladbach, 14 stores are to be transferred to competitor Rewe, three stores to Kaufland and one store to Edeka. The Bundeskartellamt still has to approve some of the plans. The remaining 45 stores will be closed by March 31, 2024, as "despite intensive efforts, no buyer has yet been found" for these locations.

In September, the hypermarket chain Mein Real filed for the opening of insolvency proceedings under self-administration. More than 5000,62 employees in <> stores as well as the headquarters in Mönchengladbach were affected, it was said at the time. The insolvency proceedings under self-administration were intended to make it possible to maintain business operations and to conduct negotiations with competitors on the possible takeover of sites.

The chain is owned by the financial investor SCP. He had initially sold the company in June 2022, but bought it back in May 2023 in view of a "critical economic condition". SCP had acquired the Real chain with its then 276 stores from the retail group Metro in 2020 in order to break it up and sell it on. Kaufland, Edeka, Globus and Rewe secured a large number of the most attractive stores. The company, with the remaining 62 locations, was then sold to the family office of the Tischendorf family in the summer of 2022, before being reacquired by SCP in May. Since 2022, the markets have been operating under the extended name Mein Real.

Bojan Luncer, CEO of real GmbH, said that the transfer of 18 stores would secure long-term prospects for around 1500 employees. "Despite intensive efforts, however, the closure of stores is unavoidable in view of the difficult situation of real GmbH." Talks are being held with the works council with the aim of concluding a reconciliation of interests and a social plan.

kfr/dpa