Deutsche Woolworth GmbH & Company OHG (commonly known as Woolworth Deutschland or Woolworth GmbH) is a chain of department stores in Germany and was a former subsidiary of the American F. W. Woolworth Company. As of 2022 the chain has more than 570 stores in Germany and 3 in Poland they are aiming to have over 1, 000 in the medium term and over 5, 000 across Europe in the long term. It was not part of the closure scheme that affected the British Woolworths Group stores, nor is it related to the Australian-based Woolworths Group retail group. On the 11th of April 2009, Woolworth GmbH board of directors voted to declare insolvency as the chain was squeezed between discounters and more specialist retailers. 23 branches were taken over by the NKD store chain. By the end of August the Federal Cartel Office approved the acquisition of 71 Woolworth stores by the Schlecker retail chain. In September Woolworth started operating as 162 store chain down from 310. During the insolvency the Austrian branches were separated from the German chain in October and bought by bluO an Austrian financial investor, 9 of the 12 stores were later rebranded to Adler and the others closed. In 2010 Woolworth was sold to HH Holding a subsidiary of the Tengelmann Group (which owns KiK and OBI) and by July 1 the headquarters had moved from Frankfurt to Unna. By the end of 2011 the store number had risen to over 200. In February 2016 the chain opened its 300th branch in Dortmund city centre
