Having survived the crisis of the past, today we no longer see hope: after 27 years of operation, we have to close the door

Souvenir shops have doubts about the opening.

According to Aldas Kikutis, head of the Lithuanian Toys and Souvenirs Association, the strict quarantine measures have had a significant impact on retail: stores, including those selling souvenirs, have been closed. According to him, the drop in billing and the shortage of foreign tourists forced many stores to close.

“Souvenir shops, retailers have suffered a lot during the quarantine, as have all the other stores that sell non-food items. Some have doubts about the opening, because there is no main traffic in both Vilnius and Klaipeda, where tourists arrived on cruises, and there are not enough flights either. Tourists from foreign countries, of course, now, although the situation is not clear, they do not want to travel, “says A. Kikutis.

The head of the association says he cannot name exactly how many souvenir shops have permanently closed their doors. However, according to him, no one has such thoughts.

“The season has not yet started, not much has been publicly announced, so it is difficult to say how many stores have closed.” But yes, there are such thoughts. More doubts arise for smaller stores, for which this is the only business when there is nothing left to do. Those with commercial licenses will probably also wait for better times ”, considers the interlocutor.

When those best times come, A. Kikutis doesn’t know it, but stresses that this fall is definitely not: “There is a fear factor in traveling. Also, it should not be forgotten that every state has the right to return restrictions. “

The head of the Lithuanian Toys and Souvenirs Association is considering that tourists will appear in the Lithuanian accommodation sector, activities will recover and then visit souvenir shops.

He claims that he realizes that Vilniaus Pilies str. Restaurants are recovering and are located on Didžioji str. They are geared towards incoming tourists, so they don’t currently live very well. The same is true with souvenir shops.

Kaunas souvenir shop closed after 27 years

The situation in Kaunas is the same. In the heart of the temporary capital, near Kaunas Street The souvenir shop, located in the Basilica of the Archdédrica of the Apostles Peter and Paul, closed the door permanently at the beginning of the quarantine after 27 years of operation.

“We were one of the first in Lithuania, we survived and lived in a stable way, we had a good reputation, tourists from all over the world came back a dozen times.” We lived really well, we were able to keep employees, pay the rent, we had no debts. It was a fairly stable, quiet and fun business for the family. It is interesting that the geography is very wide, tourists heard Lithuanian products. And our souvenirs were made by Lithuanian manufacturers, they had to return the products, ”says Zenonas Šalna, manager of the souvenir shop.

He alluded to the fact that in the past there were more souvenir shops than he managed, later the rest did well, but due to the sudden onset of the pandemic, a determined decision had to be made with heart pain. Z. Šalna assures that he also managed to survive in 2008-2009. crisis, its end was predictable, in contrast to this time.

“It was a shock to us, we thought for a long time that we couldn’t fall asleep, but the decision had to be decisive.” We estimate that without a year of income, retaining employees, paying rent, utilities, there are no options. You can take a loan, but you will “hang yourself” and then who will take it? “Consider the interlocutor.

Tourist flows and a bureaucratic mechanism contributed to the decision.

After the government announced the quarantine, the store was still trying to survive for several weeks, but without tourists, it was no longer possible to survive.

“The owners understood us and made a discount, but only until the end of the quarantine. The quarantine has ended, but there are no tourists. The memories only work for tourism: 90 percent. Income. This is a fluctuating income at over the years: when there are tourist flows, it is possible to work, when there are no more tourists, there is no point in working. Now that the curve slides down and the forecast is uncertain, the income and social security meters are turning, we closed the store after a long year of work, ”he says.

However, according to Z. Šalna, the bureaucratic processes of the institutions also contributed to the decision to close the door: “The Employment Service has become very sub-bureaucratic. The first words from the prime minister’s lips were encouraging, but the bureaucratic mechanism worked: each week’s delay did its part. It was necessary to do everything suddenly, react in a couple of days, and they were delayed.

We submitted our support request on time, but received a response that it was not the same date or wording. Listen, this is a global situation, you don’t have to look at the newsroom, you must react immediately. But the bureaucratic machine has worked and will continue to work. “

I don’t see lights this year

The interviewee is convinced that the best times will have to wait at least a year.

“The forecasts are sad, we see what is happening in the world.” The trend is that you are not distancing yourself from long distance flights yet. I am sure that the tourism sector is facing a very serious stagnation, which may disappear until measures are taken to combat the coronavirus in the world. I have not seen the lights in this situation for at least a year, “he says.

Z. Šalna says that upon returning recently from Latvia, where the situation is the same: “I went around Latvia, where I had never been before, I was surprised that in Riga, where there were generally endless tourist flows, souvenir shops, closed, all with closed curtains. The same is true with us in Lithuania. “

The manager of the souvenir shop says that looking at the windows of the colleagues, he gets sad: everything is closed to this day. When asked if the souvenir shops have closed permanently or only temporarily, the interviewee points out: “There is no such term in the business to ‘suspend activities’, whether or not to fire employees, there is no other option.”

It is true that the businessman insinuates that he will continue trying to do some operations online, but he does not expect good results.

“If you live in a foreign country, there is no need to buy a Lithuanian souvenir with the Lithuanian inscription” Lietuva “or” Laisvės karys “. You have to be here and see the object when you buy a magnet, a plate, a mug, a T-shirt etc. etc. Otherwise, there is no incentive for him to buy, purchase a souvenir, or bring a waiting room if he is not here, ”says Z. Šalna.

The head of the souvenir shop says that tourists from all over the world visited here: Argentina, Canada, the United States, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, etc. t. At the moment, the returning tourists don’t mean anything, because that flow doesn’t allow us to live.

Only the units return, at least about 70 percent must return. The first flows, so maybe you can survive, he thinks. – The Russians, as tourists, are buying. The fact that everyone is waiting for them. However, the situation in Russia, both political and due to the coronavirus, is poor and the borders will not be opened for long. “

This summer is “buried”

Artūras Randis, which operates 4 Baltic souvenir shops in Vilnius and Trakai, also sees no opportunities to continue operations this year. Amber products are a craft that a man has been working on for almost three decades. The businessman also successfully survived the crisis of the past, which is currently the most difficult period.

“It just came to our attention then. At that time, only Russian speakers were not going to Lithuania, everyone else came, so there was no shortage, and currently no one is going to. So there was no crisis that we should close, trade had dropped about 45%, but we survived, “says A. Randis.

According to him, this year it took several months without a total flow of tourists for the business to be strongly affected. Currently, restrictions on the arrival of tourists from foreign countries are loosening, while Latvians, Germans and Poles are gradually arriving, but this flow of tourists is not enough to continue their activities. As a result, the businessman has temporarily closed the doors of all stores and hopes to resume operations next summer.

“The season begins in May and lasts until approximately the new year. If you don’t win in the summer, you won’t earn a living in the winter. If you have more stores, one may be negative, the other may compensate. This summer, buried, we will definitely stop working.

According to my estimates, it will take years to recover. If the second big wave doesn’t come, let’s hope that by the beginning of next summer, when we have the first customers, it will be possible to start relaxing, “hopes A. Randis.

The owners did not commit

When asked what difficulties he had during the quarantine, the interlocutor points out that the owners of the premises in the old town did not want to find a compromise, so it was logical to close and wait for next year.

“Sure, you can try to do something, but you just turn red very hard. If the landlord does not agree to defer payments or reduce the rental price, we are forced to automatically close. If you pay 4 thousand for 100 square meters. Eur and not doing activities, so how do you survive? We had to close, “says the businessman.

It ensures that many souvenir shop owners have faced the same situation. Most of them closed stores, suspended operations.

“I have many acquaintances who work with memories, amber, bad for everyone. Some have contracts that have to pay maximum fines to finish. Therefore, they will try to do something else and survive,” says the head of the Baltic memory.

When asked if he had benefited from state support during the quarantine, the businessman claims to have received a benefit of less than a thousand euros.

“The state has its own problems, we have ours. The state will not solve these problems, it will not bring tourists. Until things calm down, that will be the case. I think it is difficult not only for us, but also for hotels. , the service companies that participate in the trips. It is bad for the entire sector, “he points out.