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Closed Saturn store in Offenbach (on December 29, 2020)
Photo: Norbert Neetz / imago images
Most of the shops in Germany have been closed for more than two months.
Now more and more retailers no longer want to accept the corona-related closings: They are taking the shutdown restrictions to court.
The plaintiffs include electronics retailers, hardware store
chains
such as
Obi
and fashion retailers such as the Düsseldorf chain
Peek & Cloppenburg
:
MediaMarktSaturn
: Germany's largest electronics retailer has submitted an urgent application to the Münster Higher Administrative Court to lift the closings in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Applications in other federal states are to follow.
»The factories that have been closed in Germany for more than two months are disproportionate.
The retail trade has demonstrably never been an infection hotspot, "Germany boss Florian Gietl justified the move.
Breuninger
: “We have filed suits at the administrative courts in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Saxony - wherever we have houses.
The goal is the immediate suspension of the lockdown measures because they are not proportionate and mean unequal treatment compared to the food trade, "said a spokesman for the textile chain.
Alternatively, the company is demanding compensation.
"Because every day our stores are closed costs a lot of money." However, Breuninger had already suffered an initial defeat before the administrative court in Mannheim.
But this does not discourage the dealer: »The court has signaled that the outcome of the main proceedings is open.
We are optimistic that we will get right there after all, "said the company spokesman.
more on the subject
Shutdown damage: Researchers expect another economic slump
Ifo Institute: Shutdown costs Germany 1.5 billion euros per week
Pubs, dealers, medium-sized companies: Many entrepreneurs are desperate about the shutdown extension
The
Unitex purchasing association
not only supports urgent requests from two retailers to reopen their stores in Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate.
At the same time, together with the law firm Nieding + Barth, he is preparing a
class action lawsuit
against
hundreds of retailers
for damages.
"Well over 300 dealers are taking part," said Unitex Marketing Director Xaver Albrecht.
There is also already a commitment from a litigation cost financer who wants to provide one million euros for the next legal steps.
The Swabian fashion house
Riani is
suing the Mannheim Administrative Court for equality with hairdressers and wants to open its shops on March 1st.
The #HandelnfuerdenHandel campaign launched by Riani has now been joined by more than 170 retailers and fashion manufacturers.
Including well-known names such as
Gerry Weber, Marc Cain, Ludwig Beck
and the shirt manufacturer
Olymp
.
»We need alternatives, how one can protect the population and still public life is possible.
What the federal government has delivered here so far is very poor, ”said Riani manager Mona Buckenmaier.
In Austria, the shops were reopened with far higher incidence figures, without an exponential growth in infections, said Buckenmair.
"Numerous bankruptcies threaten"
In addition, the alarm calls from the retail industry are
getting
louder: The owner of the largest German shoe retailer
Deichmann
, Heinrich Deichmann, warned that more and more retailers would find themselves in a threatening situation.
There is "an acute risk that many people in the industry will lose their jobs in the next few months and that shop closings will lead to the desertification of urban areas."
Brick-and-mortar retail needs “alternative opening concepts in a timely manner”.
Alexander Otto, head of the shopping center operator
ECE
, said that many retailers already have their backs to the wall: "There is a risk of numerous bankruptcies and bankruptcies, the disappearance of hundreds of retail companies, the closure of thousands of shops and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs."
The managing director of the largest German book
retail
chain
Thalia
, Michael Busch, warned of the long-term consequences of the financial holes torn by the lockdown.
"With each day of lockdown, retail is losing its innovative ability for the future."
The boss of the clothing manufacturer
s.Oliver
, Claus-Dietrich Lahrs said: »We are firmly assuming that it will reopen on March 8th.
We need this binding opening perspective. «Otherwise there is no avoiding far-reaching restructuring.
"For us, it is directly about a lot of jobs and our space in the city centers," warned Lahrs.
Icon: The mirror
fdi / dpa
