As of: March 7, 2024, 4:47 a.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
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The wave of bankruptcies in the construction industry means that hardware stores are apparently receiving more applications from craftsmen and women.
But there are also other reasons.
Cologne - The construction crisis has many consequences - one of them is that more and more craftsmen and women want to hire people from hardware and garden stores.
“There is a noticeable wave of applications from craftsmen,” said Franz-Peter Tepaß, board spokesman for the Home Improvement, Building and Garden Trade Association (BHB), in Cologne this week.
The number of applications has increased significantly in the past six to eight months.
He didn't give any numbers.
Craftsmen apply to hardware stores: “These are experts who can pass on their knowledge well”
The name of the hardware store is written in large letters above the entrance to a Hornbach hardware store.
© Felix Hörhager/dpa/Symbolbild
Tepaß sees the development as positive, and not just because of the general shortage of skilled workers and skilled workers: “We need exactly this expertise.
These are experts who can pass on their knowledge well.” There are several reasons for the increase in the number of applicants – including the crisis in housing construction and the many bankruptcies among project developers and construction companies, which have had a negative impact on craft companies.
In addition, it is difficult for many people over 50 to cope with the physical demands of certain skilled trades.
Tepaß estimates that around a tenth of employees in specialist retailers previously pursued skilled trades such as painters, tilers or bricklayers.
Construction crisis: Every second company suffers from a lack of orders
Meanwhile, the construction crisis is heading for a further downturn this year.
The Munich Ifo Institute estimates that only 225,000 apartments could be completed in 2024, 45,000 fewer than last year - which was also extremely bad for the construction industry.
The industry also had to cope with a lot of bankruptcies last year and it doesn't look like things will get better any time soon.
The construction industry actually wants to avoid staff cuts – as long as possible.
“It is already a bitter reality that every second company in the residential construction sector is suffering from a lack of orders,” says Tim-Oliver Müller, General Manager of the Construction Industry Association. “In view of this development, we will experience a decline in employment in our industry in 2024 for the first time since 2008. “
There have been warnings about this in the construction industry for some time now: once companies have cut employees, it would be difficult to restart housing construction simply because of shrinking capacities.
“Now the aim is to prevent a massive crash, which would be dramatic for the housing construction industry, but also for social cohesion,” demanded Müller, managing director of the construction industry, at the beginning of the year.
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Hardware stores are also looking back on a difficult year in 2023
But the hardware stores that had good sales during the corona pandemic are also complaining about the construction crisis: consumer sentiment was poor in 2023 - the hardware stores are also feeling the impact of the slump in new construction.
Because then fewer people need initial equipment for their new apartment.
Accordingly, dealer sales fell by 3.1 percent in 2023, or even by around 9 percent when adjusted for inflation.
They have therefore fallen significantly more than in retail as a whole.
With material from dpa