Retail trade with a positive interim balance: the cash registers are ringing in the Advent business

Created: 12/19/2022, 3:00 p.m

By: Catherine Brumbauer

Business is booming: master confectioner and chocolatier Franz Kässer with customers from the USA.

© Very

So far, retail and the hotel industry have been satisfied with their sales before the festival.

The only concern is the long-term energy supply.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Christmas music echoes through the Garmisch pedestrian zone.

The smell of mulled wine wafts through the streets from the Christmas market, which can take place again this year in its classic form on Richard-Strauss-Platz.

In the center of the market town there is a hustle and bustle.

It is the first Advent without Corona requirements.

The Christmas lights alone are a bit more subtle in places - because of the energy crisis.

However, not all retailers are aware that people are saving because of their high energy bills and are cutting back before the festival.

All in all, the business people draw a positive interim conclusion about the Christmas business.

Christina Harenberg, head of the Thalia branch at the Garmisch Kurpark, got the impression that this year, for example, a new, expensive games console does not necessarily have to be under the Christmas tree.

Your gaming department, on the other hand, is very popular.

This leads Harenberg to assume that many families in Werdenfelser Land are giving away a cheaper new card or board game.

Books are also very popular.

"We are particularly pleased that our younger customers are also discovering their love for books," explains Harenberg.

It was not until October 2021 that she took over management of the then newly opened Thalia branch.

In her second year in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, she recorded a noticeable increase in sales.

The elimination of the pandemic restrictions "is clearly reflected in an increased number of visitors" in their shop.

Retailers largely satisfied with sales before Christmas: "There are sectors that are not so happy".

Franz Kässer, owner of the Chocolaterie Amelie, is doing as good a business as ever.

"The Advent season is our time," he emphasizes.

Heaps of orders come in at his main store on Ludwigstrasse in Partenkirch and in Garmisch's pedestrian zone.

Chocolate is a popular company gift, and the pandemic didn't change that.

This had no serious impact on sales.

But Kässer, former chairman of the association "Experience Partenkirchen", as the district's advertising community is called, has heard: "There are sectors that are not so happy."

In the Ludwigstraße, the Christmas business has been “rather restrained” so far, says Anton Krätz, current chairman of “Experience Partenkirchen”.

This affects all sectors, but especially those for which online trading is strong competition.

He doesn't necessarily want to explain the reluctance to consume with the energy crisis.

“We are confident that willingness to buy will increase in the final spurt before Christmas.

That wouldn't be unusual."

Christmas business: Streams of visitors to the Christkindlmarkt bring retail customers inflow "up to the last minute"

Perfumery Wiedemann is already reporting “bombastic Christmas business”.

Customers come to the store looking for gifts in a good mood, says branch manager Theresia Drda.

On the Saturdays in Advent, the shop in Garmischer Klammstrasse is open longer.

"It's very well received and it's a customer run right up to the last minute," emphasizes Drda.

"We noticed that a lot of tourists find their way to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, especially on Saturdays, and like to spend the day in town to stroll through the Christmas market."

DEHOGA district chairman Schimmer: "We're full".

But long-term energy supply worries him

Daniel Schimmer, District Chairman of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, can confirm this.

“There is definitely a need to come together again at mulled wine stands.

And there will be Christmas parties again.” Schimmer is also positive when it comes to hotel occupancy.

The booking figures for the current year are evaluated by October.

"We're already at the same level as in the record year 2019. And now we're full." The Passion Play, the tourism workshop GTM in Oberammergau and the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau brought enormous media attention to the district.

"People have seen incredibly great pictures of the region - and now they want to enjoy them in peace." Schimmer does not see the effects of the energy crisis on holiday bookings in and around the market town.

But he is concerned with the question of how the energy supply will be after the end of nuclear power in Germany, which is planned for April 2023.

Will there be bottlenecks and will this in turn be reflected in his electricity bills?

"The only reproach I make against our politicians is the lack of planning security, because that is deadly for our industry." The manager of the Garmischer Hof expects high capacity utilization again in the coming year.

Numerous booking inquiries have already been received.

Schimmer is now temporarily closing his hotel until December 25th.

So that his employees can also celebrate Christmas.

"As a thank you for a fantastic year."