In view of the report recently presented by the Committee of Experts and the ongoing consultations on the new Infection Protection Act, the BTE calls on politicians to refrain from taking inappropriate and scientifically hardly justifiable corona measures in the future. After all, more than two years after the start of the pandemic, there is no evidence whatsoever that there is an increased risk of infection for customers in the non-food trade. So the closure of textile, shoe and leather goods stores in 2020 and 2021 was epidemiologically pointless and arbitrary. “In addition, there are serious doubts today as to whether the access restrictions for stationary trade are constitutional at all in view of the uncertain scientific data situation,” states BTE General Manager Rolf Pangels.
The question of opening is vital for the entire outfit industry. After all, stationary textile, shoe and leather goods shops suffered by far the most from the coercive measures, since seasonal fashion purchases are usually not made up for by customers. “And due to the currently poor consumer mood, sales in the first half of the year are often still well below the pre-corona level,” reports the BTE general manager.
In addition, after more than two years of the pandemic, which according to BTE calculations led to a total loss of sales of around 15 billion, the reserves of many entrepreneurs have been used up and state aid was often insufficient. “Thousands of stationary textile, shoe and leather goods shops will therefore not be able to cope with renewed serious corona access restrictions or even lockdowns economically,” predicts Pangels.
Pangels appeals to politicians: “We want to keep our shops open and not use our motivated and qualified employees for questionable access controls. Let’s do our job! This country is facing the worst economic and socio-political crisis since reunification. In this situation, sales restrictions or business closures that cost billions and are therefore no longer economically viable cannot be adequate means!”