The tightened restrictions in the fight against Corona has caused sales in German retail stores to collapse during the important Christmas business season.
Under 2G conditions – according to which only vaccinated and convalescent people have access to shops – the number of visitors to downtown retail has fallen by an average of 41 percent compared to 2019, according to HDE. The association therefore called on politicians to adapt economic aid and to do more in support of trade.
In the week before the second Advent, revenues in stationary trade in non-food retail were an average of 26 percent below the level of 2019, as the German Retail Association (HDE) announced on Sunday in a survey of around 1 600 companies in the sector, RT Deutsch reported.
According to politicians and the mainstream media, those unwilling to get the shot are in the minority, but if that were the case, retailers would not actually be complaining about lost sales.
The pity for the retail trade is limited, since they have moved in lockstep with arbitrary political guidelines on Corona measures and 2G rules, treating the unvaccinated as second class citizens.
Austria’s ski industry faces a dreary winter
From a business point of view, the winter season in Austria for gastronomy and retail has been an unmitigated disaster. According to a regulation issued by the Ministry of Health, cable cars or cog trains can only be used by those who have recovered or who have been vaccinated – the 2G rule.
Those who have not been vaccinated have to climb the mountain themselves in order to be able to ski down. Thus ski huts on Upper Austria’s local ski slopes are empty, said a saleswoman in the closed Intersport store in Hinterstoder, where she is currently working, trying to return unsold goods to suppliers.
For the Hinterstoder store, which also operates a day ski rental, 90 percent of annual sales occur in winter, and the lockdown could spell the end for them.
https://freewestmedia.com/2021/12/09/german-trade-association-sees-huge-retail-slump/