Domestic trade still cannot breathe a sigh of relief. According to the trade association’s first forecast for the full year 2023, there is a real decline in turnover. This year a minus of 3.9 percent is expected.
The economic comeback will not be successful in 2022, director of trade association Rainer Will tells the APA. The hoped-for catch-up effects of the pandemic have not led to major changes. The real, ie inflation-adjusted, decline in turnover and the exploding real estate and energy costs are taking their toll on the retail sector. “Online retail in particular has suffered or will suffer heavily this year,” said Andreas Kreutzer, Managing Director of Kreutzer, Fischer and Partner (KFP).
Health, personal care and fashion items in plus
According to a KFP study, the product groups health and personal care (plus 0.9 percent) and fashion items (plus 1.4 percent) experienced real growth this year. In contrast, sales revenues in furniture and household goods fell sharply, with a real decline of 11.7 percent.
The relief package is not enough
The trade association supports the government’s announced aid package. Among other things, the planned investments in childcare and the abolition of cold progression are seen as positive. However, the trade association calls for further measures, because the package alone is not sufficient. “Every second trading company is in the situation where it has no opportunity to invest. “That’s concerning,” Will said.The trade association wants a reform of the labor market, early payment of outstanding Corona compensation, equal tax treatment of debts and equity and an abolition of the rental agreement fee.
Collective bargaining will begin soon
Collective bargaining will also begin soon, which will take place amid high inflation and an uncertain economic situation. “Many retailers won’t be able to afford a 10 percent salary increase,” says Will. The director of the mail order group Unito (Otto, Universal, etc.), Harald Gutschi, believes that working people should get “the ten percent more”. But in the next KV negotiations you should be careful and consider the possibilities of one-off payments, possibly also tax-free payments. The sector is “cautiously optimistic” about the future. There will be no growth. “The year 2024 will look more like Austria losing enormous competitiveness,” Gutschi said.
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.
