Open shops on Sunday ?: Altmaier wants to save the inner cities

Large shopping malls and online retailers are hitting smaller businesses – the pandemic is making the situation even worse. Minister of Economic Affairs Altmaier announces concepts that should liven up the city centers. One idea stands out.

Whether books, games, clothing or household appliances: today you hardly have to leave the sofa to go shopping. The trend towards online shopping is at the expense of smaller shops and thus also of German inner cities, which are becoming increasingly deserted. The pandemic exacerbates the situation for traders – now Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier wants to give them a hand. And not only with bridging aid against the corona consequences, which will be extended until mid-2021. The aim is a "turnaround" towards more new shops and lively city centers, said the CDU politician in Berlin. But how exactly?

In order to discuss this, Altmaier had asked more than 20 experts for a digital exchange. Further discussions are to follow, at the end of which there should be an action plan that can be implemented quickly. In 2021 the dying of shops should be stopped and reversed in 2022, said Altmaier – then more people should dare to start their own business in the inner cities. It's not just about economic issues, but about cultural identity.

But there is a long way to go. The managing director of the HDE trade association, Stefan Genth, currently sees up to 50,000 stores nationwide at risk. Sales are currently around 30 percent below normal on average – because people went less into the cities due to Corona. Altmaier emphasized that the pandemic is increasing the problems, but empty shops are not new. Even before the Corona crisis, retail had to give up to 30 percent of its sales to online retailers in some areas, plus there was competition from "greenfield" shopping centers.

Retailers benefit from the online economy

From the point of view of the experts, digitization is one of the keys – or the "extension of the shop counter onto the Internet". In other words, customers should not only be able to shop online at Amazon, Zalando and other large retailers. "It's not about playing off online retail against stationary retail," emphasized Altmaier. But retailers should also benefit from the advantages of the online economy. The HDE is calling for an aid program for dealers, i.e. financial support, but also support from experts.

Altmaier has not yet made such specific commitments – they could become part of the desired concept. Altmaier did not mention a schedule for this. Specifically, however, the minister announced that he would again campaign for more Sunday openings during the pandemic – it was not possible to do so with the coalition partner SPD for the summer. If there is no further agreement, the federal states should take the lead.

Digitalization is of course no longer new territory for retail in 2020. There are already workshops and programs. "Customers want to shop around the clock," said Tina Müller, CEO of Douglas. The fact that the drugstore chain was strong online helped it grow during the peak of the Corona crisis, she said. Today, almost 40 percent of sales come from the network business. Smaller retailers often do not have this option and support concepts are needed. Stationary retail also stands for advice and meetings, which makes it unique.

Greens see the minister at fault

Several companies, including Douglas and Vodafone, have already established platforms and “marketplaces” to help smaller retailers market products online. The association HDE started a program together with Amazon in September, which aims to impart knowledge about online trading.

Criticism of Altmaier's remarks came from the Greens, who see the economy minister to be at fault. "It is completely incomprehensible why Altmaier only now realizes that he has to take care of the city centers," explained Katharina Dröge, spokeswoman for economic policy, and Daniela Wagner, spokeswoman for urban development of the Green parliamentary group. They called for a "fair risk sharing between commercial tenants and landlords in terms of rental costs in this crisis" as well as a 500 million euro emergency fund for inner cities. In addition, 290 million euros should be made available for digitization projects through urban development funding.

The local political spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Bernhard Daldrup, called for simplifications in the federal government's urban development funding and, in this context, spoke out in favor of "multifunctional buildings instead of traditional shopping malls". Daldrup explained that vacancies cannot be met with extended bridging assistance and new leases alone.

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