12.03.2008

Karstadt launches new department-store generation in Essen

. New store design, modern presentation of goods
. Competent brand portfolio
. Expansion of the fashion, beauty and style segments

Essen (Germany) - March 12, 2008. Upon phase-one completion of the Limbecker Platz shopping center in Essen, Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH opened the prototype of its new-generation department store on March 13, 2008. Covering roughly 20,000 square meters of sales space, Karstadt is presenting its implementation of a new department-store strategy throughout all departments and in all sales areas for the first time.

"The resolute implementation of our new strategy can be recognized in our Karstadt store in Essen. It is here that we are showing what Karstadt represents for the future: it's a modern marketplace with a new store design, a high degree of brand presence, a product-range structure oriented to customer desires and a new overall appearance whose corporate design will apply to all Karstadt department stores in the future," said Peter Wolf, CEO of Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH and member of Arcandor AG's board of management, on the occasion of the grand-opening press conference.

The store design of the new Karstadt structure distinguishes itself by means of brightness and clarity.
High-quality materials such as parquet flooring and granite were employed for the store's interior and furnishings. Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH invested a total of roughly €23 million in the interior work of the sales space. The entire product-range structure and the presentation of goods are based on a resolutely implemented category management (customer-oriented product-range selection). A new customer-traffic layout within the Karstadt store is also part of the new strategic approach: By means of this intelligent concept, 10 percent more space was gained for customer aisles while sacrificing only 1 percent of the sales space in the process.

More customer service and customer orientation is offered by an in-store TV network: by means of over 50 video monitors, customers can inform themselves about product-range innovations and can also access electronic floor plans of the store. Likewise, the positioning of check-out facilities and their design underscore the high degree of customer convenience in the new Karstadt store in Essen. A Lavazza Café invites shoppers to relax and linger awhile.

The Karstadt store in Essen places considerable emphasis on the areas of fashion, beauty and accessories. These particular product ranges occupy up to 75 percent of the total sales space in the Karstadt store in the Limbecker Platz shopping complex. Twenty-five percent of the floor space is occupied by the home-furnishing product range (living and electronics). "With this arrangement of selections, our new store will become Essen's top location for the fashion and lifestyle product ranges," said Peter Wolf.

The extensive brand portfolio is featured in over 130 brand shops throughout all four floors which Karstadt occupies in the complex. The men's fashion segment, including underwear, consists of 29 shops; women's outerwear comprises 25 brand shops (including lingerie, there are 35 shops); the beauty segment occupies 19 shops, and there are 12 shops devoted to leather goods and accessories. With its 10 shops, the home-furnishing segment offers a considerable selection, and the watch & jewelry product range as well as footwear occupy eight and seven shops, respectively. "We haven't yet achieved such a high concentration of shops with attractive goods in the Boulevard plus format," said Peter Wolf.

With respect to the fashion segment, eight private-label shops featuring exclusive Karstadt brands deserve particular mention, including shops offering designer fashions by Kaviar Gauche (winner of Karstadt's 2007 New Generation Award) and styles by the Berlin star designer Kostas Murkudis. Praising the opening of the new Karstadt store in the Limbecker Platz shopping complex, Peter Wolf  said, "with these and many other highlights, Karstadt will lend increased attractiveness to Essen as the former top urban shopping destination in the Ruhr region, and thus once again generate higher customer frequency."

Media contacts:

Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH
Corporate communications
Martin Schleinhege / Michael Scheibe
Tel: +49 (0)201 / 727-2537
E-mail: michael.scheibe@karstadt.de
             Martin.schleinhege@arcandor.com