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Even if the Carinthian trade opens fully on Saturday, it is far from normal. You are equipped, but the client frequency will still be missing. In the first week of the “closing” alone, there were sales losses of € 30 million in retail. More aid measures, specifically tailored to trade, were necessary, representatives of the Chamber of Commerce said. However, what you can see is that retailers reacted very flexibly to the crisis, for example by creating web stores. Broadband expansion must be massively driven.
CARINTHIANS The Carinthian trade has almost 8,000 companies with more than 42,000 employees. This industry was sometimes more affected by the complete “blockade”. Now all trade will reopen on Saturday, May 2. “But we are far from the normal state, consumers only hesitate a lot to go to cities and businesses,” said the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Jürgen Mandl.
Some don’t want to go shopping with a mask, others lack gastronomy for a shopping experience. And in the course of the first openings so far, the opening hours of small stores have been quite different. This should at least change now and the usual opening hours are from May 2.
The consumer has to trust again
One is satisfied with the gradual start-up, but not euphoric. “It will be a long way until the consumer finds confidence again,” said Mandl. The feeling of being safe is crucial.
And those can be the customers: you can shop with confidence, masks and disinfectants are available, distance brands available. Trade is ready.
Many commercial companies as victims of the crown
Division president Raimund Haberl mentions sales losses in the first week of the “shutdown” alone: more than € 30 million net. The Easter business has also been completely phased out. “There are fears that many retail companies will be victims of the Corona virus and that entire urban centers will also die,” he adds.
Because despite orphaned urban centers, fixed costs continued. He cites fashion retail as an example: “This lives off seasonal products, spring products are virtually unsold. We have to find solutions on how to assess this loss of sales. Extensive calculations are needed, and we are currently gaining experience from retailers. “
A study by the economic research institute “Economica” confirmed for fashion retailers: a company with an annual turnover of three million euros also lost government aid measures of 325,000 euros due to the crisis, which at the end of the season at the end of August it meant a decrease in wealth from around 22 percentage points to about ten percent. Several waves of bankruptcies would be pending: in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021.
More relief measures are needed
The Chamber of Commerce would like to see a faster pace in federal support, which is just beginning. And, according to Haberl: “There is an urgent need for measures that are specifically tailored to the requirements of trade.” This is the only way they can remain liquid.
Faster digital change, flexible companies
In the past few weeks, those who were able to quickly switch to digital sales or online stores or deliveries have had a slight advantage, says Haberl. Mandl describes this flexibility from many dealers as “impressive,” even if the failure, of course, cannot be 100 percent compensated. “It was a decisive step towards further digitization, online stores have become an indispensable second pillar,” said Mandl.
Section President Martin Zandonella (Information & Consulting) also sees it this way: “Digital change was much faster than expected. Since mid-March, many companies changed very quickly, in addition to online sales to home office and video conferencing, in all industries. “
KWF funding needed for digitization
Of course, the IT industry is not sparing the crisis. Approx. 60 percent of Chamber of Commerce members have registered short-term jobs. When it comes to consulting, etc., you ultimately depend on other industries.
Now, says Zandonella, we must look forward and learn from the crisis. He sees a need for action regarding subsidies: “The support of the Carinthian Economic Promotion Fund to establish or improve websites, including small business web shops, could make a decisive advance in business location.”
It is important to link fixed and online retail to be more resilient to different types of crises. Online is also not a solution.
Boost broadband expansion
What the corona crisis also shows is the technical limits of the networks due to the slow expansion of broadband. There are problems with individual connections to companies like private homes. Fiberglass missing. “We now see not only the technical limits of today’s networks for businesses, but also for families: With home office and home education, the bandwidth of many homes is rapidly running out. We have to push the expansion of broadband in a massive way, the crisis is a track with the fence post for our network “, Zandonella repeats an old demand.
Employer day
Today’s “Employer’s Day” (April 30) has a new slogan: “What would Labor Day be without cooperation? Mandl:” This unifying message is addressed to employers and employees alike. We want to point out that we can only start again together. “
Mandl appeal: shop at home!
Mandl appeals to all Carinthians: “Order and buy from Carinthian retailers, either directly in-store, by phone, or online! This maintains added value in our country and ensures jobs.” With their buying behavior, the consumer can make a significant contribution to making retailing normal again more quickly.
379 of 410 recovered Carinthians, 19 active patients
