Karstadt/Kaufhof department store merger cleared unconditionally in Germany

On 9th November 2018 the German Competition Authority (Bundeskartellamt) unconditionally cleared the merger between Karstadt Warenhaus and Galeria Kaufhof in Phase 1. With a total turnover of over 5 billion Euros, the merged entity will become one of the largest department store groups in Europe combining 243 stores and over 32,000 employees.

CRA was retained by Galeria Kaufhof to advise on the transaction. During the proceedings in front of the Bundeskartellamt, CRA supported the parties by analysing local competition between the parties and their competitors, based on disaggregated sales, price and loyalty card data. The data was used to define catchment areas of each store, and to analyse the parties’ shares in over 4,000 local markets. According to the Bundeskartellamt, the in-depth pre-notification work facilitated the clearance of the merger in Phase 1.

The CRA team included Lars Wiethaus, Max Schlosser, and Felix Rhiel.

For more details, please see the Bundeskartellamt’s press release here.