The Düsseldorf fashion retailer Peek and Cloppenburg is expected to lose its prominent stores in Berlin, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. The property in the hometown supposedly has to be vacated in a year. The new tenant should be an international competitor. This is another serious blow for the ailing company.
Ironically, Peek and Cloppenburg (P&C) could lose its top addresses. As the "Handelsblatt" reports, citing insiders, the Düsseldorf fashion retailer is set to lose the rental agreements for its three so-called cosmopolitan buildings in Berlin, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. The Düsseldorf headquarters must therefore be vacated in October 2027. The houses on Berlin's Kurfürstendamm and on Frankfurt's Zeil will also be rented to the Spanish Inditex group in the future. The group includes brands such as Zara, Bershka and Massimo Dutti.
The companies involved say that the contracts with Inditex for all three cities have already been signed. When asked by the newspaper, P&C said that “nothing has been decided on this matter”. Inditex did not comment on the speculation, and the real estate company Midstad also did not want to comment on individual contractual relationships. P&C Düsseldorf is about the company run by JC Switzerland Holding from Zug, Switzerland. It is not legally affiliated with the Hamburg fashion retailer of the same name.
The loss would be a significant blow for P&C. The three stores represent the company's traditional business model: large sales areas, a wide range of products under one roof. But it is precisely this format that is coming under increasing pressure.
Inditex relies on large brand worlds
Inditex is pursuing a clear expansion strategy in major German cities with large flagship stores in which several of its own brands are bundled under large roofs instead of spreading them across many smaller stores. To do this, the group needs space like that offered by the P&C buildings in Düsseldorf, Berlin and Frankfurt - centrally located and generously proportioned.
Inditex also differs significantly from P&C in its business model. The Spanish group controls essential parts of the business itself - from the development of the collections to production and sales. This enables him to pick up on trends and demand comparatively quickly and to market his brands internationally. P&C, on the other hand, relies on a different principle: As a multi-brand company, the retailer offers a wide selection of different manufacturers and thus consciously positions itself as a counter-model to suppliers such as Zara and H&M.
Landlords and tenants pursue their own interests
The process is particularly explosive because of the ownership structure: the real estate company Midstad, which manages the three houses, like the fashion retailer, belongs to Patrick Cloppenburg's entrepreneurial family. This obviously does not prevent both sides from pursuing different business interests. “He as a landlord and we as tenants each have to ask ourselves: What is best for us?” said managing director Constanze Freienstein to the “Handelsblatt”.
Midstad plans to no longer use its large properties solely for retail in the future. In addition to smaller retail areas, there will also be space for offices, restaurants and apartments. The company is pursuing a similar concept with the Carsch-Haus in Düsseldorf, which it took over for a consortium of investors in July.
The events cause a lack of understanding in the industry. A high-ranking manager quoted by the newspaper sees it as a sign that the owner no longer fully believes in the future of the retail business. Another industry expert sees Patrick Cloppenburg now more focused on the real estate business.
P&C has to downsize its branches
The possible loss of the three houses hits P&C in a phase in which the company has to fundamentally restructure its business model anyway. The Düsseldorf retailer has been losing sales for years and went through self-administration insolvency proceedings in 2023/24. Before the pandemic, the company had achieved record sales of 1.49 billion euros; last year, according to Handelsblatt estimates, it was under one billion.
Managing Director Freienstein has been working on a realignment for almost a year. The branches should be smaller and more economical. “16,000 square meters of space is no longer appropriate today,” she told the newspaper in mid-October. In the future, 3,000 to 5,000 square meters are planned, with up to 10,000 at individual locations.
The branch network should not necessarily shrink. P&C currently operates 82 stores in Germany, Switzerland and the Benelux countries, including 76 in Germany. In the medium term, even more branches are planned, said Freienstein. It is crucial that every house works economically. Savings are also continuing at the headquarters: In addition to the 350 jobs that were cut during the insolvency proceedings, further jobs are to be eliminated by the end of this year. Around 900 employees currently work at the headquarters. In total, the entire Düsseldorf P&C group, including all branches at home and abroad, employs around 16,000 people.
