Economic situation - Bavarian retail sector disappointed by Christmas business
Christmas cheer is muted in the Bavarian retail sector: "It was a disappointing Christmas business, it was lacking in juice and energy," said Bernd Ohlmann, spokesman for the Bavarian Retail Association (HBE), on Thursday. Consumers' reluctance to spend, which had already been noticeable throughout the year, had continued.
With the snow at the first Advent, things had started well for the clothing and sporting goods trade, said Ohlmann - "but then...". Of course, a final spurt is to be expected until Christmas Eve, and countless vouchers will be redeemed after Christmas. A third of all presents under the Christmas tree are likely to be vouchers. But the Christmas business is lacking the kind of crowd-pullers that the new iPhone or the new Harry Potter used to be. Inflation and uncertainty took their toll.
Bavarian retailers traditionally make a quarter to a third of their annual turnover in November and December, depending on the segment.
Christmas business was also not as good as hoped for many retailers across Germany: the companies surveyed by the Munich Ifo Institute in December rated their current situation and expectations for the coming six months worse than in November. The business climate index for the sector fell from minus 8.8 to minus 12.1 points. Of all sectors, retailers of toys and consumer electronics as well as electrical engineering and electronic devices saw their business situation deteriorate in December. The situation is predominantly good for drugstores.
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Source: www.stern.de
