GERMANY’S KARSTADT A.G. department store chain said it plans to merge with mail order group Quelle. The merger, which will create one of Europe’s biggest retail groups with annual sales of about $18 billion, is expected to be completed by autumn, according to Reuters. The group will be called Karstadt Quelle A.G. and will employ 120,000. It will comprise store-based retailing, mail order business, tourism and possibly some other services. Financial details were not made available. Quelle, which last year saw sales growth after years of falling revenue, is 48% owned by the Schickedanz Handelswerte group. Quelle generated sales of 12.1 billion marks between February 1998 and January 1999, compared with 11.9 billion marks in the same period a year ago.
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