Not only the high energy costs, but also the lack of personnel is currently causing enormous problems for domestic trade. This is already going so far that more and more retailers are closing their stores earlier. Retailers such as Kastner & Öhler, Fussl Modestrasse and Dorotheum want shopping center operators to be more flexible, especially as customer frequency has decreased since the start of the Corona crisis.
“The customer has changed, longer opening hours are difficult,” Kastner & Öhler boss Martin Wäg said at a press conference on Thursday. In shopping malls, some of which are open until 9 p.m., businesses are required to operate. “Some center operators do not want to allow us shorter opening hours,” says Ernst Mayr, managing director of Fussl Modestraße.
It is also becoming increasingly difficult to explain to employees why they have to be present until 9 p.m. when no customers come, agrees Karin Saey, Head of Trade of auction house Dorotheum.
More and more are closing earlier
In some locations outside the shopping centers, Dorotheum, Kastner & Öhler and Fussl Modestraße have already changed their opening hours and now close half an hour or an hour earlier. You can also imagine shorter opening hours at MediaMarkt, if that makes sense. “You have to look at that from location to location,” says Austrian boss Alpay Güner. On Saturday, Güner wants longer opening hours, until 7 p.m. instead of 6 p.m.
Financial Long Covid
All retailers are currently experiencing staff shortages, high costs and some are still waiting for corona aid. According to the companies, 2022 went better than expected, but 2023 will be very challenging. The president of the trade association, Stephan Mayer-Heinisch, spoke of a “financially long Covid”, after three years of the pandemic, equity had been exhausted.
While equity in the retail sector averaged 38 percent before the crisis, it is now between 9 and 20 percent. “We’re dancing on thin ice here,” Mayer-Heinisch said.
Gastronomy is taking over many companies
There were recently 900 bankruptcies in the retail sector. Some companies, such as shoe store CCC or sports store chain XXL, are withdrawing from Austria altogether. Others, such as shoe chain Salamander, are downsizing and closing individual branches. The vacant locations are often replaced by catering concepts. Mayer-Heinisch sees it positively. Eating out is fashionable and also brings traffic to retailers.
The big problem with the staff
Companies see the shortage of skilled workers as a major problem for the future. MediaMarkt boss Güner wants a reform of the labor market with a system in which work is worthwhile. Because at the moment you earn much more if you don’t work, says Güner. Saey van het Dorotheum argued for a legal right to childcare throughout the day.
The sector organization wants to see more older employees in the business community who can contribute their knowledge there. According to Rainer Will, director of the trade association, it should become more tax-efficient for retirees to go back to work. In total, the trade lacked 35,000 workers. In a survey by the trade association, almost every second retailer indicates that they have a shortage of staff.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
