German mail order retailer Quelle, owned by embattled department store owner Arcandor, is to close after attempts to sell it failed.

Up to 7,000 employees are set to lose their jobs. Arcandor, which also owns the Karstadt department store chain, filed for bankruptcy protection in June. The German government had granted a E50m ($75m) credit line to Quelle to keep its business afloat, but after failed negotiations with numerous investors the insolvency administrator said it now sees “no alternative to winding up” the 82-year-old business.

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