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 in new contaminations from Covid-19. They will last until at least Jan. 10. A new meeting with the state government on Jan. 5 will determine whether the lockdown should be extended further.
In any case, the new measures will cause a severe interruption of the normal Christmas shopping process that will only benefit online retailers like Amazon or Zalando and retailers that have implemented an omni-channel strategy. The latter are now asking for permission to make home deliveries on Sundays and holidays to avoid logistic problems. Contactless click & collect, which was forbidden during the first lockdown in the spring, will be permitted this time.
Intersport joined some important fashion retailers in warning about the serious consequences of the lockdown in an open letter to politicians published in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday. It said that such a decision will necessarily lead to the insolvency of thousands of retailers and the loss of millions of jobs, particularly in city centers.
The German retailers’ federation, HDE, called for equal treatment with the restaurants and bars, which will remain closed, and the transformation of soft loans offered by the government to compensate for fixed costs and sales losses into non-refundable grants.
As previously reported, the German government has also insisted for the closure of ski facilities.
Stores and ski resorts open in Spain
In contrast with German policies, shopping malls as well as ski resorts are opening today in Spain’s autonomous region of Catalonia, to be followed by the ski area of Sierra Nevada on Friday, with some restrictions. Outside the shopping centers, the physical stores that sell non-essential goods were already open before in Spain.
Hotels and restaurants will stay open in the ski resorts to accommodate tourists, but they will only be allowed to operate at half their normal capacity. Furthermore, tourists coming from other areas will only be able to ski there over the weekend, after spending Thursday night in the area.
As previously reported, the government of Andorra has ordered the shutdown of its vast ski areas, partly in solidarity with the French government, which is banning the use of skilifts and cable cars until Jan. 12. To soften the blow, French authorities authorized exemptions last week for ski professionals and youngsters who have registered for ski lessons with a certified ski school.
