Retail – Frankfurt am Main – Retail expects sales growth for Christmas despite Corona – Economy
Handel – Frankfurt am Main:Despite Corona, retail expects sales to increase for Christmas
Directly from the dpa news channel
Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) – Despite the corona pandemic, the retail sector in Hesse expects an increase in sales in the Christmas business. Revenues in the months of November and December are expected to increase by 2 percent compared to the previous year to 9.5 billion euros, as the Handelsverband Hessen (HVH) announced on Tuesday in Frankfurt. The main driver is the booming online trade. For the year as a whole, retailers in Hesse are expecting sales to rise by 1.5 percent to almost 51 billion euros.
Association President Jochen Ruths emphasized the importance of the end of the year: “The Christmas business is more important than ever for many retailers, especially in the current situation and due to the recent business closings as part of the corona pandemic.” The jewelry and toy trade accounted for almost a quarter of annual sales in November and December. Shops with textiles and shoes are particularly hard hit by Corona restrictions. Despite the pandemic-related supply bottlenecks of raw materials, DIY stores were among the corona winners.
In an association survey of around 300 retailers, providers of sporting goods as well as building and home improvement supplies complained about the negative consequences of the pandemic in the third quarter. Around half of the retailers outside of the food business stated that the federal bridging aid is being used. 20 percent of the estimated risk of having to go out of business is high or very high. Last year it was 13 percentage points more.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211123-99-109982 / 2