Editor’s Note
The closure of 52 Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt stores in Germany presents a potential recruitment opportunity for local jewelry retailers, as experienced specialist sales staff may seek new positions. Affected stores are set to close by June 2023 or January 2024. For a detailed list of locations, see the original report in *Blickpunkt Juwelier*.
The bad news that 52 Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt stores in Germany are closing could have at least one positive aspect for local jewelers: one or another competent jewelry specialist salesperson (FachverkäuferIn) is likely to look for a new job rather than transfer to the offered transition company. The stores will close by June 30, 2023, or January 31, 2024, respectively. Blickpunkt Juwelier has already published a list of the affected locations.
For specialist retailers searching for staff, a visit to the jewelry department at the closing Galeria locations could be worthwhile. Furthermore, it makes sense at these locations to quickly update one’s own job postings on job portals or even place an advertisement. Many specialist retailers are not always up-to-date here because, until now, hardly any qualified applicants have responded to the postings. Currently, simply too few applicants are being sought in the specialist trade – whether as sales staff or as apprentices. On the Stepstone job portal alone, jewelers have posted 264 positions for salespeople (as of today).
