German retailers have to pay increasingly higher rents - even outside top locations. In the so-called 1b locations, retail rents have increased by more than 50 percent since 2014. This emerges from the response of the Federal Government to a request from the Left Party, quoted from the newspaper "Augsburger Allgemeine".
In stores with more than 150 square meters of retail space, rents climbed by 27 percent on a national average. In the metropolises of Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Cologne, they even rose by 53 percent on average to more than 50 euros per square meter.
For smaller shops, development is similar: According to the federal government, shop rents rose by 20 percent to 41 euros per square meter, in the metropolises by 39 percent to almost 80 euros per square meter.
In the "prime locations", such as in pedestrian zones, rental levels with average prices of € 133 per square meter are largely exhausted. This also applies in metropolises, where the average rent in a prime location is 250 euros per square meter.
Left-wing economist warns of shrinking brick-and-mortar retail
Left-wing economic politician Pascal Meiser warned against drastic consequences for many cities: "Rising store rents will lead to a further deterioration in the competitive conditions of brick-and-mortar retail compared to online retailing and can thus lead to a threat to stationary retail jobs in the medium term", said Meiser of the "Augsburger Allgemeine".
The German Trade Association now demands support from the landlords. "Consumer behavior has changed enormously in the last ten years, so that the rental conditions are no longer appropriate at the present time," said Chief Executive Stefan Genth. He demanded: "There must be a new rental partnership between the retailer and the property owners, such as sales-based rents, which consist of a low base rent and an agreed share of the monthly turnover."
In particular, the textile trade as the "leading industry in the city center" suffers from the fact that already over a quarter of all sales in the clothing sector are generated online, said Genth. The trade association warns because of the increasing online trade for a long time before a dereliction of the inner cities.