The Weilheim retail sector suffers greatly from the restrictions imposed due to the Corona crisis.
Selling over the Internet is not a solution for most retailers. Only a busy city center would help them.
Weilheim - “We have almost no more bookings,” says Uta Orawetz from the “Simader” travel agency.
Due to the travel restrictions, travel is now hardly possible.
Most customers only found out about destinations for their summer vacation, but have not yet booked anything.
Orawetz understands the people who are waiting now and hopes "that it will get better after the vaccinations".
Even in the second division, the café with French flair, not much is happening at the moment.
Even in the “to-go area”, which is still open, there is a lull.
"Coffee works best, some customers also take a tarte flambée to the office or home," says Orawetz.
The main problem is that hardly anyone is out and about in the old town.
Only on Fridays during the weekly market, is about more going on.
Until things really start again, Orawetz doesn't want to waste the time: "We use it for internal training."
The "M7" suitcase shop on Marienplatz is also indirectly affected by the travel restrictions.
"The sector has collapsed extremely," said Michael Martinus.
The explanation for this is simple: “If you are not allowed to travel, you also don't buy suitcases.” The other product groups, such as handbags, and the range of the second store “Lederwaren Rumpf” are also affected by the lockdown.
Current information on the coronavirus in the Weilheim-Schongau district can be found in our news ticker.
According to Martinus, the small shops have no chance with an online shop.
It is expensive to set up and time-consuming to maintain.
In addition, customers who look for goods on the Internet do so using search engines.
"The big companies are at the front on the first page and the small ones at the back, where they can never be found," is Martinus' experience.
According to Martinus, the shops in Weilheim need a heavily frequented city center.
Only when people look in the shop window can they see something they like.
You can then order this by phone or email.
At the moment, however, hardly anyone is out and about in the old town.
“I'm now looking down at Marienplatz.
There are only two people walking purposefully across the square, ”says Martinus during the phone call.
It doesn't look like window shopping.
According to Roswitha Rauh, however, the jewelry store “Perchermeier” is relatively little affected, although she emphasizes “relatively”.
The store does not have an online shop either, but uses “phone and collect”, which means that anyone who wants to buy a piece of jewelry that they can see in the shop window can call.
"Then we put it on its side until he can buy it and pick it up," says Rauh.
There are two main reasons why the jewelry store is less affected than stores that sell clothing or shoes.
“We don't have any seasonal goods,” says Rauh, “and we can always order as needed.” The other reason is that the shop also has a workshop that can continue to work normally.
Rauh does not like the closure of the store because the hygiene measures such as the installation of windows and the provision of disinfectants have been implemented.
On the other hand, she also understands that.
The three most important measures are now: “Watch out, watch out, watch out.” Then things will “get better again at some point”.
In the “Schuhhaus Pröbstl” business continues, but to a lesser extent.
Customers can pick up shoes that they have ordered by phone or email at the door, wearing a proper mask.
In order to simplify the consultation on the phone, Eva Jungwirth put numbers on the shoes in the shop window.
Nobody gives specific figures on sales and the decline in sales, but Hartmut Bauer from "Foto Bauer" sums it up.
The owner of the long-established photo shop, who has closed his shop and only takes passport and application photos by appointment, says: “We have been doing well for 30 years.” And anyone who has “bought a cushion” during this time get through the crisis too.
Companies currently have to live on the substance in order to survive.
BY ALFRED SCHUBERT
The local newspaper answered the most important questions about corona vaccination in cooperation with the district office.
