COVID-19 – Page 3
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Updated: Isn’t sports retailing an “essential” category?
The German government is widely expected to announce an extension of its lockdown for retailers of “non-essential” items as well as fitness studios and restaurants through Feb. 14, according to leading German media. The second German lockdown started on Dec. 16 and was supposed to end on Jan. 11, but ...
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Article
German winter sports retailers ask for special government aid
Rainer Angstl, the manager of Sport Schuster in Munich, and the managing directors of more than 170 other German sports retailers that depend heavily on the winter sports business have signed an open letter to the federal government, asking for subsidies based on the monthly gross profits that they are ...
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Sports & outdoor retail rose by 7.2% in the U.K. in 2020
Sports and outdoor retailers survived the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.K. last year. Spending on their products rose by 7.2 percent, according to Barclaycard, which noted in particular the boom in home fitness while gyms were closed. Home improvement items and furniture scored similar increases. In contrast, general clothing contracted ...
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ArticleYear-end reflections on agility and responsibility
The coronavirus crisis has led all of us to the choice of sinking into depression or to grab the chance of becoming more agile and more responsible in reacting to the situations created by the virus and other events like Brexit. Fortunately, mankind’s innate resiliency has apparently led the majority ...
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Alpine ski resorts under siege
Austria’s ski resorts were reopened on Dec. 24 as planned, and videos showed that they welcomed plenty of local tourists, as hotels and restaurants have remained closed. A further restriction came from the government’s decision to ban non-essential retailing, including the sale of skis and other sports products, at physical ...
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ArticleE-tailers and fewer ski resorts escape new anti-Covid measures
Frasers Group, the parent company of the Sports Direct chain, was the first major retailer in the U.K. to withdraw its guidance for its current financial year after the government, on Dec. 19, ordered the shutdown of all stores selling non-essential products in London and Eastern and Southeastern England. They ...
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ArticleHow Covid-19 has impacted companies' trade show budgets
It has become commonplace to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated trends that were already underway with the digitalization of the economy and society in general. Trade shows have been one the sectors most affected by the phenomenon as restrictions on travel and mass events worldwide prompted them ...
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New anti-Covid measures in Germany, Spain opens up
In concert with the governments of the individual Länder, the federal government of Germany has ordered the lockdown of all the brick-and-mortar stores that sell non-essential products, starting on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Opticians and bike repair shops are mentioned among the few exceptions. The new restrictions came after a spike ...
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ArticleItaly and Andorra close their ski facilities for the holidays
Governmental guidelines for the closure of ski facilities to prevent Covid-19 infections continue to go in different directions in Europe. On Dec. 3, the government of Andorra said that its facilities will remain closed until the beginning of January and that the exact date of their re-opening may vary depending ...
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ArticleUpdated: Austrian ski facilities will re-open on Dec. 24, little clarity elsewhere
The Austrian government is allowing the country’s operators of ski facilities to re-open them on Dec. 24, in contrast with a ban ordered by the German, Bavarian and French governments. Their drastic measures are in principle supported by the Italian government, in response to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s call for ...
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Article
ANWR and GKK support a German buy-local campaign
While physical stores are still open in Germany, with some restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, statistics show that customer traffic has declined dramatically in city centers, threatening the survival of many retailers. As in the U.K. and other countries, many customers are preferring to order products online for the ...
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Germany calls for a European stance on ski tourism
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a joint decision by the member countries of the European Union to keep their ski resorts closed until at least the end of the year, in order to minimize contamination from Covid-19 among skiers, but she has some opponents. She has the backing ...
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Few sports brands in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Sustainability has become an increasingly important issue in the sporting goods sector. However, after being on the list for 20 consecutive years, Adidas is absent from this year’s Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). The annual DJSI, which has reached its 21st edition, assesses the sustainability performance of the largest 2,500 ...
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Fesi publishes a Covid survey ahead of a conference in Brussels
The European Commission was scheduled to organize a major conference on Nov. 17 about the recovery of the sports sector after the coronavirus crisis. The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi) said it hopes that its recommendations have been taken into account. It considers that sport and physical ...
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Article
Best quarter ever for Polygiene
Polygiene reported its “best quarter ever,” with sales rising by 11.7 percent to 22.9 million Swedish kronor (€2.27m - $2.63m) and the gross margin rising by 0.5 percentage points to 70.4 percent, leading to a financial turnaround. The results led to a financial turnaround for the Swedish ingredient brand company, ...
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ArticleGrowing Zalando launches Connected Retail in more countries
In releasing excellent results for the third quarter, Zalando announced the introduction of its Connected Retail program in Denmark, Finland and Norway on Nov. 1. As it did for a few months after its launch in Germany and the Netherlands, it is waiving all commissions for all partners using the ...
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ArticleBad timing for the new lockdowns in Europe
More and more European governments are following the example of the Republic of Ireland, which ordered a six-week lockdown on the sale of non-essential goods at physical stores on Oct. 21 to help stem the second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic, which now has its epicenter in Europe, as in ...
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WTO report examines IP in light of Covid
The Covid-19 pandemic has led national and regional intellectual property (IP) offices to expedite certain procedures relating to the use of patented devices and copyrighted materials. The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has published a paper sketching the background of its fundamental IP deal – the WTO Agreement ...
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GfK: Contrasting consumer sentiment across Europe
The second wave of the Covid-19 is beginning to stifle the previously expected recovery of the European economy, particularly for the consumption of non-essential products and services. Fortunately, it has not yet led to the retail lockdowns of the first wave in the spring – except in Wales and the ...
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WFSGI’s monthly Covid-19 survey shows rising pessimism
The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) has released the results of the September edition of its WFSGI Covid-19 Impact Survey, a monthly report conducted among manufacturers as well as retailers and brands across the sporting goods sector to explore the effects of the pandemic on their businesses. ...
