As of: February 19, 2024, 4:00 p.m
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View of the filled product shelves in a “teo” market at the main train station in Hanau.
© Boris Roessler/dpa
“A bitter setback” for the Tegut supermarket chain: Most “Teo” markets in Hesse are no longer allowed to open on Sundays of all days following a court decision.
This has consequences for business.
Fulda - The supermarket chain Tegut has temporarily stopped the expansion of its staffless “Teo” stores in Hesse after a legal defeat in the dispute over Sunday opening.
“Fundamentally, we believe in this sales concept and are sticking to it,” explained a company spokesman when asked by the German Press Agency.
Nevertheless, all locations must now be economically reassessed under the new conditions and their profitability must be critically questioned.
The Hessian Administrative Court had decided that the closure of the Teo shops on Sundays ordered by the city of Fulda was legal because they were sales outlets within the meaning of the Shop Opening Act.
Since then, most of the “Teo” branches in Hesse have remained closed on Sundays - with the exception of two shops near the train station.
Other Teo branches in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are not affected by the ban on Sunday opening.
The new black-red state government now wants to find an exception so that small digital markets can open on all Sundays throughout Hesse.
According to the German Trade Association, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has recently become the first federal state to have such a regulation.
In addition to Tegut, other providers are also active with smart store concepts, including Rewe with the “Nahkaufbox” and “Tante M”.
The Tegut spokesman explained that Sunday accounts for 25 to 30 percent of weekly sales, depending on the location.
The flexibility of the Teo concept is “no longer fully present, which will be reflected in sales”.
They first want to have the necessary legal certainty, which the new black-red state government has promised for the Sunday opening in its coalition agreement, before planning further.
Basically, there is a lot of dynamism in smart store concepts like Teo, “everyone is currently trying out smart store concepts in many places,” explained the spokesman.
With 39 locations in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Tegut is well advanced in its expansion.
Nevertheless, the ban on Sunday opening is a “serious setback” for the concept.
dpa