Chair of Strategy and Marketing

Criticism regarding the second state loan for Galeria

Prof. Dr. Martin Fassnacht criticizes the planned state loan for the ailing retail chain.

According to reports, the Galeria department store group is to receive renewed state aid. The planned aid from the federal government's Corona rescue fund has met with criticism from many experts. In the Handelsblatt, Prof. Dr. Martin Fassnacht also expressed skepticism about the German government's decision. "In my view, the government loan is a scandal," he said. The taxpayer will almost certainly not get the money back, warned Martin Fassnacht. "With the economic state of the company, I do not see how they can ever pay back this money," he added. Galeria faces too much competition in all categories, both brick-and-mortar and online, he said. According to his observations, competitors such as Zalando, Zara or Douglas simply come across as cooler in the respective target groups.

Read the full article here (German only).