After the forced break: This was the first day of the reopening for large and small businesses in the Munich district.
District - A high concrete block blocks the entrance area of the sports shop Sport Sperk in Ottobrunn. The apprentice Nadja Kirschbaum takes a packaged chip from a bowl on the gray table and presses it into the customer's hand. “We use it to check that there are only a certain number of people in the shop,” she explains, while she is adjusting her mouthguard. There are still enough of the 40 chips on the table at the entrance, which is also equipped with a bottle of disinfectant and a pack of face masks. The branch in Ottobrunn has prepared for the reopening, as have many other shops in the district.
"Our employees all wear washable mouth guards," says sales manager Hans-Jörg Thomae. "But customers also get a disposable face mask if they don't have their own." The 1400 square meter shop in Ottobrunn has reopened since Tuesday. The employees divided the sports shop, which extends over two floors, due to the 800 square meter regulation in the basement. "We measured the size with the laser pointer," explains Thomae. Metal bars and barrier tape separate the two halves of the shop. Stickers with the hashtag # fürdichundfürmich make customers aware of the minimum distance.
"The desire to shopper goes with the mouthguard"
Although the store is well prepared in terms of safety precautions, significantly fewer people come. "It's still quiet, but business is slowly starting up again," says employee Gabriele Pliva. "With the mouthguard, the desire to shop goes away," explains Thomae. "It will be weeks before normality returns." Customers who come to the sports shop are specifically looking for products such as cycling shorts or jogging shoes. "Every second cabin is closed," says Thomae. "But trying on clothes is not a problem." Despite the still unsafe situation, most of the 30 employees have been brought back from short-time work and are available to help customers with questions and advice.
With a face mask and plexiglass lens, Christian Benz protects employees and customers.
© Dieter Michalek
But not all businesses in the district have already taken this step. "Many of my employees are still working short-time," says Christian Benz, owner of Benz Household Goods in Ismaning. "We are currently working in a team of three," says Benz, cutting the fabric of a washable tablecloth - a request from a customer who has been storming back into the shop since Monday. "People are happy and grateful that they can come back," says Benz. Above all, the extensive range of children's toys, dishes, paint and tools attracts customers to Ismaning. However, the owner of the family business does not believe that the influx continues: "I think that only the bare essentials will be bought soon." Above all, he sees the online shops as the big winners of the corona crisis. "It's a difficult time," he says. “March was disastrous. We have no chance of catching up by the end of the year. ”However, he does not have to worry about the existence of the 70-year-old business.
Employee Jutta Grzan measures the children's feet in front of the shop in Garching and then brings the right shoes outside.
© Dieter Michalek
Christa Roos' shoe store in the center of Garching is also on the safe side. "We can use reserves," explains Roos, who as a risk patient is currently out of business during opening hours. In addition to plexiglass panes and face masks, the owner of the store came up with another option from home so that the protective measures can be observed. Since only four customers can stay in the shoe store at the same time, she has moved the service for the children outside. In a chair in front of the front door, her employees measure the feet of the little ones and wear the right shoes outside. In the first few days after the reopening, “there was a lot of crowds,” says Roos. "We have lost the sales of the past few weeks and we hope that customers will come back to us now," she says.
XXXLutz house manager Pierluigi Aramini attracts customers to Aschheim with a tent full of garden furniture.
© Laura Forster
But it wasn't just the small local businesses that were hit by the Corona crisis. The furniture store of the XXXLutz chain in Aschheim has to keep the doors of the furniture store closed for the time being. The 750 square meter garden tent in the car park of the furniture store is open for this. Disinfectant is available for customers at the entrance and stickers on the floor indicate the minimum distance. Despite the large selection, only a few people stroll through the rows of lounge chairs and garden seating areas. "Not many people know that it is open here," said house manager Pierluigi Aramini. Together with 40 other colleagues, he holds the position on site, the rest of the approximately 180 employees are on short-time work. "It's the way it is, we can't change it," says Aramini.
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