Karstadt, the bankrupt department store chain, is going to be a stand-alone company soon. After spinning off Thomas Cook, Arcandor’s huge tourist operator, on the stock exchange, Arcandor’s receiver has decided to liquidate all the assets of Quelle, formerly Europe’s largest mail-order, failed. The largest liquidation of a retailer in German history began this Monday with close-out sales of reportedly 18 million items. The clean-up of Quelle’s warehouse is being handled through its own department store at the headquarters in Fürth near Nuremberg, a couple of stationary service points elsewhere in the country and at the company’s website. On Monday, quelle.de suffered various breakdowns due to massive demand by smart shoppers who were looking for a bargain. It subsequently became known that noblelook.com, a specialty internet retailer for eyewear, intended to make an offer to take over Quelle. Reportedly, its chief executive, Ralph Jaufmann, who is also a shareholder of Arcandor, is submitting a business plan to the receiver. Jaufmann is particularly interested in Quelle’s logistics, its online shop and Privileg, which is Quelle’s strong private label for kitchen furniture and appliances. According to the plan, various product segments including bicycles shall be given up or transferred to specialty online stores.