Wednesday, February 24, 2021
"Every day costs real money"
Large retailers are suing lockdown
Retail has been largely closed for two months. Not only small businesses suffer, the large retail chains are also slowly running out of breath. Some are now fighting the closings in court. They consider the measures disproportionate.
Whether Mediamarkt-Saturn, Obi or the fashion retailer Breuninger: After months of lockdown, more and more retailers in Germany are showing patience. The consequence: A wave of lawsuits is currently rolling towards the German courts, with which electronics retailers, hardware stores and fashion stores want to force an end to the store closings to contain the corona pandemic.
Take Mediamarkt-Saturn, for example: Germany's largest electronics retailer has submitted an urgent application to the Münster Higher Administrative Court to lift the closings in North Rhine-Westphalia. Applications in other federal states are to follow. "The factories that have been closed in Germany for more than two months are disproportionate. The retail trade has demonstrably never been an infection hotspot," said Germany boss Florian Gietl, justifying the move.
And Mediamarkt-Saturn is by no means alone with this point of view. The DIY chain Obi as well as the textile chains Peek & Cloppenburg and Breuninger are also going to court. "We have filed suits at the administrative courts in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Saxony – wherever we have houses. The aim is to immediately suspend the lockdown measures because they are not proportionate and mean unequal treatment compared to the food trade, "said a Breuninger spokesman.
Alternative to opening: compensation
Alternatively, the company is demanding compensation. "Because every day our stores are closed costs a lot of money." Breuninger has already suffered a first defeat at the Administrative Court in Mannheim. But that does not discourage the dealer: "The court has signaled that the outcome of the main proceedings is open. We are optimistic that we will still be right," said the company spokesman.
The Unitex purchasing association supports urgent requests from two dealers to reopen their shops not only in Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate. At the same time, together with the law firm Nieding + Barth, he is preparing a class action lawsuit against hundreds of retailers for damages. "Well over 300 dealers are taking part", reported Unitex Marketing Director Xaver Albrecht. There is also already a commitment from a litigation cost financer who wants to provide one million euros for the next legal steps. It is obvious: trade is moving closer together in the fight against lockdown.
This is also felt by the Swabian fashion house Riani, which is suing the Mannheim Administrative Court for equality with hairdressers and wants to open its shops on March 1st. The #HandelnfuerdenHandel campaign launched by Riani has now been joined by more than 170 retailers and fashion manufacturers. Including well-known names such as Gerry Weber, Marc Cain, Ludwig Beck and the shirt manufacturer Olymp. Mona Buckenmaier from the Riani management says: "We need alternatives, how one can protect the population and still public life is possible." In Austria, the shops were reopened at a much higher incidence, without an exponential growth in infections.
Danger of "desolation of urban spaces"
The new unity in retail is also visible elsewhere. Retail chains, shopping center operators and fashion makers are calling for retail to be able to open up as soon as possible. The owner of the largest German shoe retailer Deichmann, Heinrich Deichmann, warns that more and more retailers are facing a threatening situation. There is "an acute risk that many people in the industry will lose their jobs in the next few months and that shop closings will lead to the desertification of urban areas". The stationary trade needs "alternative opening concepts" in a timely manner.
Alexander Otto, head of the shopping center operator ECE, said that many retailers were already standing with their backs to the wall: "There is a risk of numerous bankruptcies and bankruptcies, the disappearance of hundreds of retail companies, the closure of thousands of stores and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs." The inner cities will no longer be recognized. Studies have shown that trade is not a driver of infection. The managing director of the largest German book retail chain Thalia, Michael Busch, warned of the long-term consequences of the financial holes torn by the lockdown. "With every day of lockdown, retail is losing its innovative ability for the future."
And the boss of the clothing manufacturer s.Oliver, Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, called for a balance to be struck between health protection and economic interests. "We have to learn to live with the pandemic." Time was of the essence, he said. "We firmly assume that it will reopen on March 8th. We need this binding opening perspective." Otherwise, there is no avoiding profound restructuring. "For us it is then directly about a lot of jobs and about our space in the city centers," he warned.
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