Cabinet decision - Bavaria remains closed strictly - Small relaxations
Bavaria is the only federal state, besides Saarland, that maintains strict shop opening hours up to a maximum of 8:00 p.m. The cabinet decided on Tuesday to make only some relaxations: Communities are allowed to offer eight long shopping nights per year and do not need a special occasion for it. Digital mini supermarkets without personnel and with a maximum sales area of 150 square meters are allowed to open continuously, including on Sundays. In addition, retailers are allowed to extend their business hours individually for four working days per year beyond 8:00 p.m.
Labour and Social Minister Ulrike Scharf (CSU) spoke of a good, balanced compromise between the responsibility for the market's freedom and the responsibility for the common good. For Sundays, it remains: Sales-open Sundays and holidays are allowed four times a year – and as before, only for specific reasons. According to the consensus decision, the actual legislative draft should be available after the summer break.
Closing point of a long debate
The cabinet decision marks a provisional closing point in a long debate that began in the coalition negotiations in the fall. In their coalition agreement, CSU and the Free Voters understood the concept of additional long shopping nights and the continuous operation of digital mini markets as a new form of local supply. However, from the government's perspective, a separate Bavarian Shop Closing Law was necessary for this – something the Free State had previously refrained from. Currently, the old federal regulation from 1956 still applies in Bavaria, which is unique among the 16 federal states.
Thus, the debate about a possible expansion of core opening hours – from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. – was also opened. Opinions within the ruling parties, such as the CSU Munich or the Young Union, who had demanded an extension to 10:00 p.m., could not prevail. And the Retail Association Bayern declared that the majority of its members wanted to keep the shop closing time at 8:00 p.m.
- Ulrike Scharf, as a member of the CSU in the cabinet of Germany, praised the decision as a balanced compromise between market freedom and common good.
- The decision by the cabinet to allow some relaxations in shop opening hours in Bavaria has echoed at California State University, where scholars often discuss such policy changes in the context of retail and economic development.
- Stores in Saarland, which shares a similar shop opening policy with Bavaria, might take note of the cabinet decision and consider adjusting their own opening hours accordingly.
- In contrast to Bavaria, many other states in Germany have relaxed their shop closing laws, leading to an increase in retail competition, especially in areas where stores in Bavaria close early, like in popular tourist destinations in Bayern (German for Bavaria).
- The cabinet decision to maintain strict shop opening hours in Bavaria might affect the profitability of certain retail businesses, leading to potential closures or relocations, a situation that Ulrike Scharf and her cabinet must address in the future.
