Four letters are dominating downtown Munich these days: S, A, L and E. You can see them stuck to large billboards on shop windows. Together they make up a foreign word meaning “salt” in Italian, “dirty” in French and “sale” in English. In the long-established German meaning, however, the word “sale” signals: Here the prices are falling, bargains can be expected here, the warehouses are being cleared. The shops advertise with ten to 50 or even more percent. But sometimes the offers only relate to a few pieces.
Until 2004, the big clearance sale was announced with three letters, starting with a W or an S on strictly defined days, depending on the season. Since then, however, there have been no more legally regulated price reductions in this form. The winter sale (WSV) has now become a sale. And it started weeks before Christmas this year, especially in the large department stores, and is continuing now.
Bernd Ohlmann, spokesman for the Munich Trade Association, knows that many of those who now come to the city center want to redeem the vouchers they found under the Christmas tree. The trend has been going in this direction for years. The days after Christmas used to be considered the time to exchange presents. On average, however, only about five percent are returned. The exchange rate is only slightly higher for toys. Clearly, the price reductions are trying to attract customers, says Ohlmann.
Do the percentages really bring more customers to the shops in Munich’s pedestrian zone? At least that’s what the trade relies on.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Right behind the Karlstor, at the beginning of Neuhauser Straße, an oversized banner on the Neo-Renaissance-style Oberpollinger façade explains that new labels with lower prices could also be stuck here. But by no means everything. You quickly notice this when you have worked your way past the perfumery and cosmetics stands on the ground floor to the exclusive fashion and jewelery labels. The many separate shop-in-shop areas really don’t make it easy to find your way around.
Discounted Miu Miu shoes or a Prada bag? Maybe you can find such a shopping pearl with a lot of luck in the outlet? It’s tucked away on the fifth floor, where there’s a fine but overpowering smell of food. Since the Corona period, says the friendly saleswoman, this outlet has been open all year round. What used to be the WSV grab table is now bulging clothes rails sorted by size and lots of shoe boxes. Ankle boots by Alexander Wang instead of 639 euros now for 320? A silver-colored slag coat by Ienki Ienki for only 520 euros instead of 1300? Nice, but is it really necessary? Both of them don’t fit properly anyway. And before you melt into your own coat like a snowman, you pull away and confirm with your own behavior what you hear again and again in shops: the money is not easy.
“A lot of people are just clammy. They don’t have much time for clothes anymore.”
“I can understand people,” says the sales assistant in a jewelry store on Sendlinger Strasse, for example. she sighs. “Who knows whether you’ll still have your job in six months? I wouldn’t buy a gold chain then.” In Bavaria, only the distance rule applies in clothing stores, but 2G prevails in jewelry stores. The young man, who was just about to step through the door, attracted by the red Sale sign, backs out in surprise. Elsewhere, one hears desperate words behind closed doors from a busy salesman who, like the colleague from the jewelery shop, does not want to be named: “A lot of people are just clammy. They don’t have much time for clothes anymore.”
Potential buyers can be seen patiently waiting this Saturday, especially in front of small shops that only a few customers are allowed in, and in front of fashion shops that do not charge high prices anyway and then also lure with super reductions. The US brand Urban Outfitters, which stands for a casual, colorful boho lifestyle, promises 75 percent off selected items. In front of the entrance to the shop, young people in particular keep a good distance on the spot.
Not only the will to buy is missing, but also the tourists
Keeping your distance is possible. This may be due to the fact that – at least felt – there are not many large shopping bags in the hands of people who would be in the way. An observation that is not statistically verifiable. However, the figures from the Hystreet.com institute, which counts passers-by in the large German shopping streets, confirm the assumption that things are far less bustling than before Corona: 72,400 people were out and about on Kaufingerstrasse this Saturday, 67 200 on Neuhauser Strasse. For comparison: On Saturday, January 11, 2020, 114,360 people came to Kaufingerstrasse.
This restraint is also reflected in sales. It is about a third smaller than before Corona, says Ohlmann. “The shopping feeling in the city center is missing.” He expects further price reductions at the end of the month because “Christmas sales were a disappointment for Munich”. The smaller shops in particular are under pressure. You might not be a part of this “sell out”. It is not only the people of Munich who are not willing to buy, but also the tourists. Visitors from the Arab countries, from Russia and China were very lacking. And yet Ohlmann says: He is an optimist – and hopes that the desire to buy will come back.