That must be a new record. At the end of July it is around 30 degrees and the first shelves are filled with Christmas items, the trade with tinsel and Christmas tree balls has started – at least in Carinthia…
It’s getting faster and faster. Last year we had to wait until the beginning of September before we could stock up on Christmas decorations. The record of a garden center successfully advancing and slowing furniture stores has now been impressively broken.
The retail chain Tedi won the race this time and is already attracting visitors in all its branches in Germany and Austria with Christmas angels, tinsel, Christmas tree balls and the like.But why only in July? At the Krone local inspection in Klagenfurt, there is persistently no comment from the saleswomen who bravely clear the shelves. “Just ask the management”, they say.
We do. The answer came by email from Dortmund. “We focus on the individual needs and purchasing habits of consumers who significantly prefer their purchases. We want to give our customers freedom of choice – with an early offer,” the statement said.
Nobody caught
Understood. And the customer? But we haven’t caught anyone strolling through the Klagenfurt branches doing Christmas shopping yet. Responses to the quick survey ranged from “well, then you would have done something” to “I don’t buy that stuff for Christmas either”. A holidaymaker from Lower Austria, who works in retail at home, is annoyed. “That’s totally exaggerated, but a lot of people buy very early and in the last two weeks before Christmas you can’t get the stuff at all.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
