Property group Signa’s retail foray was a mistake, senior executive says

It was a mistake for Austrian property group Signa to venture into the retail business, since that cost it capital that was sorely missing when it tried to stave off insolvency, executive Alfred Gusenbauer said in comments broadcast on Saturday. Gusenbauer, a former leader of the Social Democrats and Austrian chancellor, was one of the most senior executives in the complex constellation of around 1,000 companies that make up Signa, the biggest casualty so far of the woes afflicting Europe's property sector. Signa has high-profile projects and department stores across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.