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Photo: Karl-Heinz Sprembe / CHROMORANGE / IMAGO
In retail, significantly more retailers than usual had to go out of business during the corona pandemic.
“Compared to 2019, we lost around 41,000 deals.
Chain stores have given up 30 percent of their locations," said the President of the German Retail Association (HDE), Alexander von Preen, to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group (Wednesday editions), according to the preliminary report.
For comparison: In the pre-Corona times, only around 5,000 shops nationwide went out of business every year.
According to the information, there are currently around 312,000 shops nationwide.
The high energy prices are currently "an existential burden on the whole trade," said von Preen.
“In retail, energy costs are around 1.5 percent to 2 percent of sales.
At the same time, the return on sales is only 1.5 percent to 3 percent.
If energy prices double or even increase tenfold, profits in many places shrink to zero.«
Then there are the consequences of inflation.
Germans spend significantly less on everyday consumption.
Retail sales in October were 1.7 percent lower than in the previous month, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office at the beginning of December.
Adjusted for inflation (real), sales fell even more significantly at 2.8 percent.
Economists had only expected a minus of 0.6 percent.
Compared to October 2021, real sales even fell by 5.0 percent.
One reason for the reluctance to buy is probably the high inflation, which climbed to its highest level since 1951 at 10.4 percent in October.
This gnaws at the purchasing power of consumers.
In the summer quarter, real wages fell by a record 5.7 percent.
According to von Preen, head of the trade association, some retailers would even have to go to their equity, which has already been severely attacked by the corona lockdowns.
The food trade with large refrigerated counters is particularly suffering.
In principle, state aid for electricity and gas price brakes helps, said von Preen.
Reserves used up - shops disappear
"For us, the reference period 2021 is a problem for the calculation. At least the lockdown times should be calculated here," said the HDE President.
The hardship regulation is also important - »if the price brakes work well, we will hopefully hardly have to use them«.
Most shops "quietly disappear from the market - without bankruptcy proceedings," von Preen told the newspapers.
“Many companies used up their reserves during the corona crisis.
This can even hit larger companies faster than smaller ones.« The HDE President does not expect a large wave of insolvencies, however.
"Rather, there will be a shift towards new ideas and offerings."
jok/Reuters
