German Retailers Want Relaxed Opening Hours

Shop keepers in Germany have added their voices to Metro AG and the Rewe trade group in the calls to do away with an outdated law which severely restricts legal opening hours. In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Chief Executive of Metro, Hans-Joachim Koerber and his counterpart at Rewe, Hans Reischl said they are among a group of German retailers who are calling for at least a partial change in the current law governing opening hours. Earlier this year the government allowed shops to trade for an additional four hours on Saturdays, which had boosted weekend sales among large retailers such as Douglas Holding AG and KarstadtQuelle AG by as much 30 percent.