The situation in German retail does not appear to have improved significantly in the past few days. There was still little reason to be happy, especially for clothing and shoe suppliers.
“The Christmas business, which got off to a mixed start this year, still lacked momentum in the week before the second Advent,” said the German Trade Association (HDE) in a statement published on Sunday. The industry organization referred to the results of its own “current trend survey” among 318 retail companies.
The participating companies therefore saw “no noticeable improvement compared to the previous week’s business development”. According to HDE estimates, total sales in local retail in the second week of Advent were 14 billion euros. Compared to the previous year, “a slightly better business development can be observed”.
The shoe and clothing retailer is “disappointed” by the latest business developments
The companies’ interim balance sheets varied greatly depending on their product range and location. “As the HDE survey shows, retail companies in the drugstore and cosmetics sectors as well as book, technology and food retailers are particularly satisfied with the second week of Advent,” explained the association. “On the other hand, the shoe and clothing trade is disappointed, as it felt the weaker development in the city center locations compared to the previous week.” Overall, “only around a quarter of the companies surveyed are satisfied” with the way the Christmas business has gone so far.
However, the HDE confirmed its forecast for the entire retail Christmas business. For the months of November and December, sales are still expected to be in the region of 121.4 billion euros. That would correspond to an increase of 1.3 percent compared to the same period last year.