The name Kaufhof has now disappeared: On Monday, the new “Galeria” logo was installed on the department store at Frankfurter Hauptwache.

This is to be the name for all 131 stores of the merged department store group Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt in the future.

Petra Kirchhoff

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The assembly of the letters is one of the last building blocks of an extensive renovation that has been allowing craftsmen and planners to come and go in the Frankfurt Kaufhof for weeks.

The branch, which gained 8,000 square meters of new retail space on several floors in the neighboring building and is now 30,000 square meters in size, will officially operate as the “Weltstadthaus” from Wednesday, according to the Group's new premium concept.

First house with a new concept

It is the first house in this category in Germany.

A pilot will also be presented in Kassel on Wednesday, a so-called regional magnet with more service and closeness to the citizen.

The group wants to set up half of its 131 branches and has launched an investment program of 600 million euros.

There was no mess in Frankfurt, as the first glance at the floors shows, which were converted during ongoing operations. Only the restaurant and roof terrace were temporarily closed, as was the grocery department, which is now hardly recognizable as a market hall with more seating areas.

It's hard to believe that everything will be ready by Wednesday.

In the perfume department on the first floor, where every eyeshadow jar and every lipstick must be dusted and sorted, things are like a beehive two days before the premiere.

Here and there the shelves are still being built.

The delivery vans of planners, technicians and joiners stand in rows of two in front of the shop door.

A pile of cardboard boxes and old shelves lie next to it.

Some craftsmen have stress written on their faces.

The till system does not work on Monday morning.

More daylight, more sitting areas

The visitor notices that significantly more daylight falls on the floors.

For this purpose, the facade was torn open and the window front was expanded.

The sports department will be larger than before, but above all the housewares and home textiles department, in which luxury brands such as Fischbacher can now be found.

A significant upgrade can also be seen in the fashion range with brands such as Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren, Maerz, Marc O'Polo.

From now on there are fresh bouquets of flowers from Blume 2000 on the ground floor. Customers are curious, but often seem a bit disoriented.

“I'm still looking,” says a customer when asked how she likes the new house.