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fromThomas J. Schmidt
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Many classic Christmas wishes such as kitchen appliances or Playstations cannot be delivered on time
It’s Christmas in five weeks. Buying gifts at the last minute is something that can be eye-catching this year. Retailers in Frankfurt are also warning that certain products are already in short supply. Deliveries are delayed. Better go stalking now. “The situation is tense everywhere, very tense in some industries,” says Dr. Joachim Stoll, spokesman for the Frankfurt retail trade. He is already predicting: “There will be no discounts.”
For example clothes, shoes, backpacks: everything that is made in Vietnam can hardly be delivered. “Orders come in May instead of December,” says Stoll. The situation is even more tense than in the previous year, the first Corona year. The reasons are months-long lockdowns, missing containers, missing container ships: “In Los Angeles there are currently 73 ships in front of the large container port and cannot be unloaded,” says Stoll.
It is typical of the economic situation, all year round. In addition, there are now power cuts in China – due to a conflict with Australia over Australian coal: “Factories in China only get electricity for a few days per month,” reports Stoll. Production and supply chains are interrupted – and reveal our dependence on the Far East. Stoll is pessimistic: It takes time to set up productions in North Africa, for example, and it won’t be for free.
The industry has been feeling the chip shortage for months. Now that Christmas is approaching, some who want to buy a Playstation 5 for the junior will notice this. This is almost impossible at the moment. “Absolutely sold out,” says Sebastian Münch, managing director of the technology gallery in Nieder-Eschbach and Eschersheim. “Customers buy them on eBay, for example, at prices well above the market price,” he says. The availability of the Playstation has been miserable since it appeared. That may be an extreme, but it shows the trend: “It affects a lot of gaming products and consoles,” says Münch, but also tablets and smartphones and, for example, coffee machines that were also given away for Christmas in previous years.
Toy stores advise you to buy soon
That doesn’t mean that the shelves in electronics stores are empty. Because the whole thing does not come as a surprise for retailers, the technology gallery has increased its inventory: “We currently have 60 percent more in stock than in previous years, because customers don’t want to wait for the industry to deliver,” explains the managing director. Regardless of Christmas, he has particular problems with so-called white goods such as washing machines: the delivery time can take up to nine months. A large manufacturer has even launched a somewhat simpler dishwasher that no longer needs some chips that are currently not supplied anyway.
Christmas includes gifts for children. Franz Steul, owner of Meder in Bornheim, reassured: “We will always have toys with us.” The only question is whether it is the toy that is on the wish list. “Certain items will simply no longer be available before Christmas, they will no longer be available.” Part of the reason for this is the corona-related delivery bottleneck from the Far East, but partly also a misjudgment by trade or industry. “What exactly the hype turns into is a surprise for us every year. So far I haven’t seen any trends,” said Steul. He advises – as this bottleneck will be even more extreme this year than in previous years – to take care of the purchases in good time. Also to straighten out last-minute shopping.
In the “handicraft box” in Höchst it is different than in ordinary years. “It’s our heyday because the children are doing handicrafts for Christmas,” says owner Gudrun Spieske. “I already ordered in the summer. If something is missing now – for example wooden stars – I hardly ever get it delivered. An order takes two to three weeks. It used to be two to three days.” She is reluctant to take orders from customers.
Bicycles are also in short supply. “Children’s bikes are also bought for Christmas,” says Ismail Cakal, owner of “Kettenesel” in Sachsenhausen. “Fortunately, we have no problems with that,” says the delivery quickly. But it is different with bikes for adults: “The dealer has to order in advance and gets the bikes in one by one,” says Cakal. But if someone wants a model that has not been pre-ordered, it won’t be until Christmas either. “Maybe by Christmas 2022,” jokes Cakal – only halfway. Because some of the deliveries are actually only announced for 2023. So you have to hope that a bike in the warehouse will spontaneously appeal to you. Because, like last spring, the shortage is also becoming apparent for the upcoming start of the season.
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