Essen, Germany July 18, 2008. Now that the reorientation of the Karstadt department stores had already progressed so far, and in light of the impending closing of the disposal of the department store real estate, Peter Wolf, member of the Arcandor AG Management Board and Chairman of the Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH Management Board, and the person who devised the Karstadt realignment, is retiring from his duties on July 31, 2008, to leave the company on extremely amicable terms and devote his time to new, entrepreneurial challenges.

“Peter Wolf successfully initiated the strategic reorientation in Karstadt by means of the trading up. We are now going to expand and systematically follow this position. Karstadt’s figures for the third quarter of the 2007/08 financial year, which we will publish on August 13, 2008, are in line with planning and show that the new business model is successful, even in the currently difficult market environment. Peter Wolf also provided support for the sale of department stores real estate. The last formalities in this process will be concluded in the days to come. We wish to thank Peter Wolf for his contribution to the company and wish him every success in the future,” says Thomas Middelhoff, CEO of Arcandor AG, in Essen.
Peter Wolf will continue to be a member of the Supervisory Board at Thomas Cook AG, Oberursel.

Stefan W. Herzberg (43), Managing Director of Sales at Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH, will now take on the role of Chairman of the company’s Management Board. “In Stefan Herzberg, an indisputable Karstadt master is taking control at Karstadt. In the past, Mr. Herzberg has shown that he is a genuine corporate personality. He knows how to motivate employees and manage department stores in an entrepreneurial manner,” says Thomas Middelhoff.
Stefan W. Herzberg was a member of the Management Board of Kaufhof Warenhaus AG, Cologne, before joining Arcandor.
Peter Diesch, CFO of Arcandor AG, will assume responsibility for over-the-counter retail in the Arcandor Management Board, in addition to his current duties. The Chairman of the Karstadt Management Board will report directly to Diesch. In this regard, Peter Diesch has also taken on the role of Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH.

Press contact:

Arcandor AG
Konzernkommunikation
Jörg Howe
Telephone: +49 (0)201 727 25 38
joerg.howe@arcandor.com