{"id":138731,"date":"2026-08-01T08:29:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/138731\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T08:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:29:03","slug":"berlins-kadewe-department-store-gets-a-sparkling-renovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/138731\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin\u2019s KaDeWe department store gets a sparkling renovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Berlin is firming up its footing on the world stage with a sparkling renovation of its stellar department store, KaDeWe, a six-year, \u20ac300m project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can still remember my first visit to Kadewe: we were looking for a pair of shoes. It was shortly after the war when the building was still half-destroyed and creaking escalators connected what were, at the time, two floors,\u201d says Burgi Schulze-Hewmann, adjusting her square black-rimmed glasses. \u201cI like to come here in the evenings. Instead of the pub, I visit Kadewe.\u201d As a Berliner and loyal customer of the historic department store, she has watched the German capital\u2019s Kaufhaus des Westens change throughout the years.<\/p>\n

Designed by architect Johann Emil Schaudt in 1907, the building itself was rebuilt after a US plane crashed into the site during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Schulze-Hewmann remembers the rebuilding of the by then seven-storey space and was around when thousands of east Berliners stormed it after the fall of the wall in 1989. Today she\u2019s here on a more jubilant mission: to toast the completion of the first stage of the latest renovations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a drizzly winter evening and hundreds of guests are roaming the halls of the shop in Berlin\u2019s central neighbourhood of Sch\u00f6neberg. They\u2019re eager to see the first phase of Kadewe\u2019s extensive makeover. The remodelling of continental Europe\u2019s largest department store \u2013 which offers close to 500,000 products, ranging from porcelain to Porter bags, and food on the sixth floor \u2013 is part of a six-year \u20ac300m project funded by the Bangkok-based majority stakeholder Central Group. By 2021 each of the three Kadewe Group\u2019s properties (including Hamburg\u2019s Alsterhaus and Munich\u2019s Oberpollinger) will be revamped.<\/p>\n

All stores are being upgraded by a notable name from the world of architecture: Kleihues + Kleihues is taking care of Hamburg\u2019s Alsterhaus while Munich\u2019s Oberpollinger is being transformed by British architect John Pawson. Meanwhile, the Rotterdam-based Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Oma) is behind the masterplan of Kadewe. \u201cWe wanted to organise the whole building into four parts to create a shopping experience that\u2019s intimate and easier to navigate,\u201d says Oma partner Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, who has arrived just in time for the opening event. \u201cMoving between the quadrants will be like going from one neighbourhood to another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paris-based interior architect and designer India Mahdavi has designed the first portion of one of these quadrants, while Italian architecture firm Storage Milano is tackling another. More will follow. \u201cThere\u2019s something unfinished about Berlin and I wanted to reflect that,\u201d says Mahdavi, whose design for the women\u2019s fashion department on the second floor draws on Bauhaus silhouettes (the Bauhaus archive is just around the corner). Ribbons of marble wrap around the floor and walls in juxtaposition to ros\u00e9-coloured carpets on which golden racks display fashion labels from Gucci to The Row. \u201cI want women to feel like they\u2019re in their boudoir when they come here,\u201d says Mahdavi. Her idea was to create a space that takes design cues from New York and London: cosmopolitan at heart yet rooted in Berlin\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\"KadeweKadewe\u2019s shoe section is about to expand with a new men\u2019s department<\/p>\n

\"TwoShopping for shoes and catching up with friends<\/p>\n

\"InteriorThe newly opened women\u2019s fashion department, designed by India Mahdavi<\/p>\n

\"ARem Koolhaus designed windows<\/p>\n

\"BurgiLoyal customer Burgi Schulze-Hewmann and her husband<\/p>\n

\"OMA'sOMA\u2019s Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli (left) and desinger India Mahdavi<\/p>\n

\"ShoeValentin Zamora Lopez, Kadewe\u2019s shoe specialist of eight years<\/p>\n

\"Kadewe'sBrand new men\u2019s accessories department<\/p>\n

\"Kadewe'sGrand main entrance ar Tauentzienstrasse<\/p>\n

\"EmployeePatrik Niesel wraps gifts<\/p>\n

\"Andr\u00e9Andr\u00e9 Maeder, CEO of the Kadewe Group<\/p>\n

\u201cThese days everything is about rebranding,\u201d says Andr\u00e9 Maeder, CEO of the Kadewe Group, as he takes a seat on a pistachio-coloured velvet sofa in Mahdavi\u2019s redesigned department, which is about to fill with curious party guests. \u201cSingle-brand shops have reached their limit and people have had enough of chains; they are looking for individuality, for something special and unique. Only the department stores that adapt will survive.\u201d It\u2019s a sentiment echoed by Kadewe\u2019s managing director Nico Heinemann, who joined the team in 2015. \u201cThe retail industry has to redefine itself at a time when you can order everything you desire online. We have to keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kadewe Group is not resting on its laurels: even the bags are getting a facelift. Maeder points out Kadewe\u2019s new black-and-white paper carrier, which has a bold new logo that is as eye-catching as the shop\u2019s new windows along Tauentzienstrasse, designed by Oma\u2019s Rem Koolhaas. The idea is to make a mark beyond the nation\u2019s borders. \u201cThere will never be a second Kadewe and we have no competition in Germany but it\u2019s time to take a stand internationally,\u201d says Maeder. \u201cThe recent political developments in the US and the UK could do Berlin good; it may very well become Europe\u2019s most important city.\u201d And if it does, he will be ready.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Schulze-Hewmann and her husband \u2013 in matching eyewear \u2013 are weaving their way through the crowd of party guests and greeting acquaintances. \u201cI\u2019ve known many of the shop assistants for more than 20 years \u2013 longer than I\u2019ve been with my husband. We\u2019ve become friends; we hug when we see each other. You\u2019re not anonymous here and I hope that whatever happens, Kadewe will never lose that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top of the line<\/p>\n

1907: On 27 March, Kadewe, owned by Adolf Jandorf, opens its doors
1950: Kadewe reopens after suffering destruction during the war
1956: Construction of all seven floors is completed and the food hall opens
2007: Kadewe celebrates its 100th anniversary
2014: Austrian company Signa Retail takes over Germany\u2019s Kadewe, Alsterhaus and Oberpollinger as part of the Kadewe Group
2015: The Central Group, owned by Thailand\u2019s third-wealthiest family, becomes the majority owner of the Kadewe Group
2017: Each day about 50,000 people pass through Europe\u2019s second-largest department store, which is in the middle of a makeover<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Berlin is firming up its footing on the world stage with a sparkling renovation of its stellar department…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[99],"tags":[112,22539,190,66920],"class_list":["post-138731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-berlin","tag-berlin","tag-department-store","tag-germany","tag-kadewe"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/117019316679407357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}