Status: 05.07.2022 3:28 p.m
German retailers assume that they will continue to be supplied even in the event of a gas emergency. Nevertheless, companies are not very optimistic about the coming months.
The food retail trade assumes that it will be supplied with sufficient energy even in the event of a gas emergency. One is in constant contact with the Federal Network Agency, said Stefan Genth, Managing Director of the industry association HDE: “The Federal Network Agency is working to enable these supply chains to be maintained even in the event of a gas emergency.”
Nevertheless, that is not enough: the association demanded that companies and consumers should not be overburdened by the high energy prices. In view of the great uncertainties, politicians must act now, the HDE demanded. According to a survey by the industry association, around 27 percent of consumers are already afraid that they will no longer be able to pay for their expenses with their income. That is why many consumers are already starting to save – with negative consequences for retailers.
Retailers expect sales to fall
This is why retailers in Germany are looking pessimistically to the coming months: According to the latest HDE survey results, 44 percent of companies are currently anticipating falling sales. “The Russian war in Ukraine and corona lockdowns in Asia are disrupting supply chains, inflation is rising and energy costs are reaching unprecedented levels. The situation is anything but easy, and future prospects are difficult to assess in many respects,” said the HDE CEO .
Even for online trade, which has been booming in recent years, the forecasts are no longer so optimistic – “the growth path is flattening out here”, the industry association announced. Overall, the HDE still expects nominal sales growth of three percent to around 607 billion euros for retailers in the current year. Adjusted for inflation, however, retail is likely to slip two percent into the red. At the beginning of the year, the association had expected stagnation here. “Without the war in Ukraine, we would have a completely different picture,” said Genth.