Delivery issues
Finding Christmas presents could be difficult
A passerby walks along a shopping street with a paper bag. (Archive image) Photo: Sebastian Kahnert / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Various manufacturers warn of delivery problems in the Christmas business. This mainly applies to electronics. But there is also a risk of bottlenecks in other goods that are often given away at festivities.
The search for the right Christmas present could be a little more arduous this year than usual – especially when it comes to electronics.
“Various manufacturers have signaled that there could be bottlenecks in subsequent deliveries in the coming months,” said the managing director of the technical trade association (BVT), Steffen Kahnt, the German press agency. And the fashion trade is also faced with the challenge of getting its goods to the stores in time for the festival.
The background is corona-related delivery difficulties at producers, especially from the Asian region, as well as major problems in the logistics chains, which are increasingly affecting German retail. Jochen Cramer, Purchasing Manager of the ElectronicPartner group, emphasized that there had been delivery bottlenecks or problems with almost all product ranges and product groups since last year. “The situation will continue indefinitely and will therefore affect the Christmas business,” the manager is convinced.
“It can currently happen that the manufacturer cancels promised and confirmed products at short notice because a sub-supplier was unable to deliver urgently needed parts,” says Cramer, describing the current difficulties facing the dealers. Notebooks and smartphones as well as televisions and household appliances are affected. The group has therefore already significantly increased its stocks. “It is currently not enough to order goods when the customer is in the shop.” Because the orders often cannot be served or very long delivery times have to be expected.
Germany’s largest electronics retailer Media Markt and Saturn emphasized: “We currently have no bottlenecks. Sufficient goods are available in our markets and warehouses. ” However, some suppliers have already signaled to major customers that there could be bottlenecks in the availability of “individual products in a few product groups” in the coming months. According to MediaMarktSaturn, smartphones, tablets, printers, dishwashers and refrigerators could be affected.
But the problems are not limited to the electronics industry. The Ifo Institute recently emphasized in its business climate index for Germany that “a large majority of retailers” are now reporting delivery problems in procurement. Axel Augustin from the textile trade association (BTE) admitted that the delivery problems had already slowed business in the fashion trade in September and would probably last until Christmas. An improvement is not expected in the industry until spring at the earliest.
A victim of the delivery problems is currently Aldi Nord. The discounter had to postpone the start of sales for its latest fashion collection in parts of Germany.
“Overall, retailers have to adjust to increasingly unpredictable transport routes, production bottlenecks and thus also rising production and procurement costs,” said the managing director of the German Trade Association (HDE), Stefan Genth. Nevertheless, he tried to reassure consumers. “It is not to be expected that people will stand in front of empty shelves when they go shopping for Christmas.”
The German fashion industry association GermanFashion also tried to nip consumer worries in the bud. “The Christmas business is right at the top of the manufacturers’ priority,” emphasized association spokeswoman Tanja Croonen. Everything is done to ensure that the goods are in the shops on time and can end up on the gift table – even if this may make the transport a little more expensive. Some of the deliveries are already being diverted from the ship to the train.
Nevertheless, many consumers are now looking forward to their Christmas shopping with a bit of apprehension. According to a representative survey by the Kantar opinion research institute on behalf of the comparison platform Idealo, two thirds of online shoppers already expect delivery bottlenecks on the Black Friday pre-Christmas bargain day, which traditionally takes place at the end of November. They fear above all that there will be longer delivery times and offers could be sold out faster.
However, the lack of availability of some products is just one of the problems that could spoil the Christmas spirit for consumers. In view of the tense environment, consumers would also have to adjust to “higher prices”, warned Vincent Stamer from the Institute for the World Economy (IfW) in Kiel recently in an interview with the online portal Merkur.de. In the case of products in demand, price increases of up to 10 percent compared to the previous year can be expected.