The department store crisis in Germany, which has been observed for years, has become more severe in 2023 due to further declines in sales. Adjusted for prices (in real terms), according to the Federal Statistical Office, revenue fell by 3.9 percent compared to the previous year. From 2021 to 2022, business in department stores and department stores recovered from the slumps of the pandemic years with a real sales increase of 13.1 percent. According to information from the Wiesbaden authorities on Monday, the statistics looked at not only classic department stores but also shops with a mixed range of goods and a focus on non-food products.
The long-term trend is therefore downwards: compared to 2003, department stores and department stores in this country reported a good third (34.8 percent) less sales in real terms last year. At the same time, stationary retail as a whole was able to increase sales by 11.3 percent over these 20 years, while mail order and online retail even saw a real increase of 170.1 percent.
In the department stores, the decline in sales was accompanied by a long-term reduction in personnel. According to the Federal Office, in 2023 the number of employees in this area of retail was a good fifth (21.7 percent) lower than in 2003. After the corona-related slumps, an opposite development was observed in the last two years: 2022 Employment in department stores increased by 3.9 percent compared to the previous year, and by another 5.2 percent in 2023. (dpa)