Galeria is an “agile, owner-managed company” and “started the new financial year profitably,” says Beetz in an interview with Handelsblatt. The entrepreneur took over Galeria out of its third bankruptcy in the summer of 2024 together with investor Richard Baker. Today the company, which now operates under the name Galeria, has 83 locations.
According to Handelsblatt, Beetz is targeting sales of 2.5 billion euros for the current financial year (previous year: around 2 billion). All branches are therefore in the black. Although the company left the last financial year with an operating loss of 100 million euros, according to Beetz in the Handelsblatt, it “started the new financial year profitably”.
According to Beetz, there are clearly defined conversion plans for the individual locations over the next five years in order to comprehensively modernize the branch portfolio. The new owner also comments on the product range: “Fashion and underwear are doing very well, but things are more difficult with sporting goods and the beauty sector. We want to expand the range of shoes and accessories, I still see a lot of potential.” Galeria’s problem is not attracting customers to the store: “What we can’t yet do is turn every visitor into a paying customer “, says Beetz.
In some locations, cooperation with the cities is developing well – for example in Berlin, Mannheim, Freiburg, Kassel, Rostock and Wismar.
The online business is also “on the right track,” says the Galeria investor. The aim is now to adapt the offering even better to needs, “to bring new brands into the stores and to make the Galeria brand more visible”. Galeria is above market level in many areas; “We want to maintain that, but also continue to grow profitably,” says Beetz.
