Galeria Kaufhof, the German department store chain that also operates stores in Belgium and the Sportarena specialty chain, saw its total sales dip slightly by 0.9 percent to €3.1 billion in 2012. This compares with a decline of 4.4 percent in the previous year. In 2012, Kaufhof opened one store and shut down four, taking the total number of doors, including the ones in Belgium and those of Sportarena, down to 137. The improvement came partly from massive changes in the assortment, including the complete pull-out of entire categories such as consumer electronics to the benefit of categories with higher margins such as apparel, footwear and accessories. In particular, textile developed very well, according to the retailer's parent company, the Metro Group. In the fourth quarter, however, sales were down by 5.1 percent and reached €1.0 billion. Metro's total sales increased by 1.2 percent to €66.7 billion, corresponding to a slight increase of 0.8 percent in local currencies. Without the divestment of the Makro and the Saturn chains in the U.K. and France respectively, the increase would have been 2.3 percent. Earnings before interests and taxes (Ebit) are expected to reach €2 billion before non-recurring effects.

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