Thai retailer Central Group has acquired the landmark KaDeWe property in central Berlin from the insolvent Austrian company Signa in what it said was another step towards buying the group.

Global luxury retailers' earnings growth could nearly double this year (from 4 per cent in 2016 to 7 per cent in 2017), but is unlikely to reach the double-digit levels achieved in the halcyon 2010-13 period, says Moody's Investors Service.