Germans cling to shop-free Sundays
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is at odds with a trend across the region in recent years to liberalise labour laws that previously kept stores closed on Sundays.
As a result, the country’s bricks-and-mortar shops risk missing out on sales as they face stiffer competition from Internet retailers.
Germany's 16 states decide their own regulations for shopping on other days of the week, with some liberalising rules to the point that shops can be open all the time if they so choose. Others are much more restrictive. Bavaria only lets stores open from 6am to 8pm Monday through Saturday.
Italian Shopping
“All the big chains would love to have Sunday shopping,” said Chris Chaviaras, a European retail analyst at Barclays in London.
Germany is out of step with European neighbours.
In Italy, Sunday has become one of the week’s biggest shopping days since the government decided in 2011 to let stores freely decide opening hours. In Sweden and Finland shops have been allowed to open seven-days-a-week for some years.
Source: esmmagazine.com
