Freiburg shops are preparing for the coming week – if they are allowed to open again. Neither the town hall experts nor the retailers themselves know exactly what that means.
“We still don’t have the new regulations on the table,” says Matthias Müller, head of the city’s legal department. Basically, the city follows the line of the country: “We will take a look at what that means locally.” The city hall employees are currently considering what questions might arise – for retailers, for example, who only barely have more than 800 square meters or could open on floors. Müller does not yet want to talk about possible individual cases: “So far we have only got the results from the media, now we are in the process of preparing the implementation. We will not nail our heads until the government paper is there.”
“It’s great that things are now going to continue,” says Stefan Schupp, managing director of the Schafferer household goods store in the pedestrian zone. Schafferer is just below the 800 square meter mark. “So we are in the process of starting everything up.” The next Monday they wanted to open with full staff, the employees were recently on short-time work and were at home – so they can be reactivated at short notice.
“However, we are still waiting for specific information, such as how many people are allowed in the store.” Jörn Kocher, Schuhhaus Kocher
Of course, the announcement by the federal and state governments is very short-term, says Schupp. “Therefore, many legal questions are still unanswered.” For example, no queues should form in front of the shops. “But as a retailer, how do I ensure that no passers-by stop in front of the house?” And the 800 square meter limit is also not entirely plausible. “It is interesting that Markus Söder always mentions the furniture stores. Especially in such large-scale buildings, customer crowds are the best way to avoid.” As far as customers are concerned, Schafferer relies on the last noticeable trend of doing things yourself at home. “Pasta, for example – maybe that’s the time to think about a pasta machine.”
In the Kocher shoe store on Schusterstrasse, which has 150 square meters of retail space on two floors, employees are also preparing for the reopening. “However, we are still waiting for specific information, such as how many people are allowed in the store,” says Jörn Kocher.
The shoe store boss only wants his employees to work with masks, and he would like “that politicians also require customers to wear a mask”. So far, the state government has only made one recommendation.
Just open one floor? Politicians are still considering
Kocher does not want to have signs for the hygiene rules for purchasing printed until he has more precise information about the requirements. However, it is clear that customers are asked to try on the shoes themselves, so that more distance can be maintained.
“I don’t expect a big rush,” says Kocher, who refers to reports from Austria where stores have already opened. April is traditionally one of the top-selling months for business, but this can hardly be achieved through the previous online sales and the following in the store.
“We now have to quickly complete our renovation work,” says Uli Steinfels, owner of “Blickfang”, a small shop for sustainable fashion on Augustinerplatz. Unfortunately, there is still no real guide. The opening hours are also not yet clear, maybe you will work reduced for the time being – especially because of childcare. The shop may also offer its customers appointments: “Then they are alone in the shop, can try on in peace and the risk of infection is low.”
Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, the state’s Minister of Economic Affairs, was in Freiburg on Thursday afternoon. By Saturday, the state government wants to decide whether shops with more than 800 square meters of space should be allowed to open a single floor, the minister said. Personally, she would have found it better to implement uniform standards and a determination of the number of customers per square meter instead of the 800 square meter regulation: “That would have been the more understandable solution to the outside world,” says Hoffmeister-Kraut. But it still represents the official line, which various scientists would have come up with.
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