Sunday shopping No rush to the shops in Bonn
Bonn · At exactly 1pm, the shops in the city opened for the last Sunday opening of the year in Bonn. Contrary to all expectations, there was no great rush.
Shortly before 1pm, Amber Klapkarek was still quite relaxed. The team leader from the Superdry clothing store had just opened the doors of her shop for Sunday shopping and was treating herself to a bit of fresh air. “Now the customers can come,” said Klapkarek at the end of all the preparations. But there were still few people around in Bonn’s city centre.
“I hope the rain doesn’t stop people coming into the city,” said Klapkarek. There were some customers waiting for the doors to finally open outside the large department stores. 30 were standing in front of Sportarena. Kaufhof was also full quickly, but there were no crowds – it was all really relaxed.
Contrary to the first reported impression, the sales in the store were good. According to Maike Reinhardt, managing director of the City Marketing Association, Kaufhof even had its strongest Sunday sales this year. “Watches, jewellery and perfumes were the top sellers here,” said Reinhardt.
In contrast, there was no rush throughout the day at most of the smaller shops. “It’s a really quiet Sunday. We had expected more,” said Claudia Justen, owner of Wunderbar on Friedrichstraße, a little disappointed. This was also confirmed by Oliver Hoffmann, owner of the Hoffmann jewellery shop. “Saturday was still a very good day, whereas Sunday was very modest. The Central Association of German Retailers (HDE) had nevertheless issued good forecasts for the Sunday opening. We are miles from these,” confirmed Hoffmann.
Contrary to Bonn’s shopping streets, the parking garages in the city were well frequented throughout the day. Anyone heading to one of the garages in the city centre on Sunday afternoon needed patience. There were long queues at several entrances. “The parking garages in the city were all full the whole afternoon. We only had free spaces in the Beethoven garage,” said Rainer Schneider, managing director of Bonner City Parkraum GmbH. One explanation for this could be that many visitors were attracted by a mulled wine at the Christmas market instead of the shops.
“The turnover in this Advent season does not match that of last year. In comparison with last year, we have a decline in sales of ten per cent,” said Reinhardt. According to an HDE survey published in Berlin on Sunday, online trading has grown by this amount in accordance with expectations. Turnover is probably at twelve billion Euros. Due to the internet boom, retailers are happy with Christmas business as a whole so far, said the trade association.
Bonn’s retailers have been given hope by the fact that the number of “last minute shoppers” has increased in previous years. They are therefore banking on a final spurt in Christmas business.
(Original text: Sebastian Flick (with material from the dpa). Translated by Kate Carey)
