Overview
- The mayors of Aschaffenburg, Würzburg, Bayreuth, Memmingen and Munich issued a joint positions paper Tuesday asking the Bavarian government to press Galeria and building owners to keep the threatened stores open.
- Galeria announced in July that it is reviewing 33 locations across Germany for profitability, a process that leaves closures as a possible outcome.
- Munich’s Rotkreuzplatz branch is specifically identified as at risk and drew a demonstration of hundreds of local supporters underlining the store’s role for the neighbourhood.
- City leaders warn that losing these central department stores would leave large unused buildings, change visitor flows and weaken nearby retailers, and they call on landlords to propose viable reuse or stabilisation plans.
- The five cities have arranged a meeting with the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs in mid‑September to pursue coordinated, site‑specific measures aimed at protecting jobs and town‑centre retail.