[morsch]

I'm Germany, the writing is on the wall. 30y ago, there were three chains operating nationally (Karstadt, Galeria Kaufhof, Hertie, maybe there were others), each represented in bigger and even medium cities, often multiple times.

They've all merged into one chain, and the resulting company is perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy. Every year or two, they announce store closures. This year, 9 out of 92 were closed, fewer than planned, because each closure gets heavy local opposition. That's down from 171 in 2020.

Despite the opposition, the last time I went to one, it was a ghost town. I'm sure it wasn't prime time, but still, a weird vibe. Expensive, too.

What killed it? Online shopping and non-food specials in discounters like Aldi.