The German economy views the partial lockdown, which has been extended until the end of December, with great concern.
After the trade and hotels and restaurants, many craft businesses are now worried about their existence.
The federal and state governments want
to extend
the
partial lockdown
until at least the end of December.
The resolutions exacerbate the
situation
in many sectors that are already ailing.
After
trade
,
gastronomy
and the
hotel industry
,
the fear of existence
is now also growing in the
craft
sector
.
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Düsseldorf - queues in front of the supermarkets, empty fashion stores in the city centers:
retailers are
warning of the
dramatic consequences of
the tightening and extension of the
partial lockdown
in Germany
decided by the federal and state governments
.
While
retailers
have so far been allowed to open largely without restrictions, the new measures are primarily aimed at them: in
shops
with more than 800 square meters - including almost all supermarkets - fewer customers are now allowed to shop at the same time than before.
As in the spring, the operators will have to use
bouncers and distance markings
to ensure that these rules are observed.
"The big losers are many inner-city retailers who lose
their customers and sales
under the
Corona
* conditions," complained the managing director of the German
Retail
Association (
HDE
),
Stefan Genth
, on Thursday.
Instead, more will be bought on the Internet.
At the beginning of the week, Genth had already warned of serious sales losses in stationary retail.
Many shops bled to death when the shop doors were open, he told
Merkur.de
*.
Extension of the partial lockdown "new low blow"
Edeka boss Markus Mosa
warned that the
grocery trade
could “not meet the high demand, especially during the Christmas season” under these conditions.
Genth and Mosa received encouragement from the chief economist of the Federal Association of Medium-Sized Enterprises, Hans-Jürgen Völz, who described the decisions as a “new low blow” for stationary retail.
On Thursday he spoke of a strong economic stimulus for
large online mail order companies
: "The classic Christmas business of November and December has already been done for many businesses."
While the measures are
putting additional burdens
on the retail
sector, there are still
no
reliefs for other sectors.
The federal and state governments had also decided on Wednesday evening that the partial lockdown with the closure of restaurants, theaters, fitness studios and leisure facilities, among other things, would be extended until December 20.
For the second time since spring, these companies have lost almost all of their sales for weeks.
Partial lockdown: Dehoga worried - situation is "very dramatic"
"The situation in our industry is very dramatic," said the general manager of the German Hotel and Restaurant
Association Dehoga
,
Ingrid
Hartges
, on Thursday.
"Now the salaries are due for November, and the next lease payment is due." Hartges urged a quick payment of the federal aid promised for November.
They also assume that the aid will continue to be paid to the same extent in December.
In the current month, businesses affected by the closure were able to claim around three quarters of the monthly turnover from November 2019.
Hartges puts the industry turnover in December last year at around 8 billion euros net.
Partial lockdown: Extension until Christmas depresses the mood
From the point of view of the Federation of German Industries (
BDI
), the latest resolutions by the federal and state governments will affect economic activity and consumer sentiment for the rest of the year.
"This will initially affect the temporary economic recovery in the coming year," said BDI President
Dieter Kempf
on Wednesday evening in Berlin.
"The air is getting thinner for more and more entrepreneurs in winter."
BDI President #Kempf on the #Corona summit: "The air is getting thinner for more and more entrepreneurs in winter. Focused use of the bridging aid & an immediate strengthening of the loss offsetting in income and corporation tax are necessary."
PM 👇 https://t.co/w2AnG7IMFU
- BDI (@Der_BDI) November 26, 2020
Although the measures would offer short-term orientation, they would not provide a sufficient “planning horizon for the economy”.
“The key must be to reduce the risk of yo-yo shutdowns for the economy and society,” said Kempf.
Extended corona lockdown depresses consumer sentiment
The Nuremberg market researcher
GfK
came to similar conclusions on the basis of its new consumption study: The four-week partial lockdown, which is now being extended until Christmas, noticeably dampened consumer sentiment in November, the institute said.
"The further course of the infection process in the coming weeks will largely determine whether the consumer climate can stabilize again," said GfK consumer researcher
Rolf Bürkl
.
Bankruptcies are to be expected, for example in gastronomy, in the hotel or event industry.
Many
craft businesses
are also directly or indirectly affected by the closings.
"They urgently need support in order to survive this time and to be able to maintain their operations," said the President of the Central Association of German Crafts (
ZDH
),
Hans Peter Wollseifer
, on Wednesday evening in Berlin.
He welcomed the fact that the federal and state governments had promised "December aid" for the period of the extended partial lockdown.
"However, action must be taken quickly after this announcement." (
Dpa
)
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen Digital editorial network.
