Waiting for Christmas

Look but don"t buy - that"s what customers are doing, even in Düsseldorf"s Königsallee, affectionately known as "The Kö".

The economic slump is being felt here too.

On the third floor of the Peter Franke"s furniture store, "The Blue Wall", the owner is meeting his newly hired business consultant.

Questioned on the current business slump, Peter Franke says:

"The Blue Wall company hasn"t been around very long, so you can"t make any long-term comparisons. You can feel the direct reactions to the slump. Not so much in lower product interest but in the final purchase decision."

When customers look but don"t buy, this means no sales for the company. According to business consultant Elmar Fedderke it has become the norm, on a broad scale. "Sales are down and that"s a fact", he says. "We can only hope that sales will pick up around Christmas, and that consumers start buying again. But businesses are also to blame."

He says many retail shops don"t do enough to keep their customers. The best they offer is a slightly lower price.

Elmar Fedderke, business consultant:

"We need to get away from these constant price wars, which retailers still make a big deal about. But the German market has had enough, and there"s not much more to be done."

But there are still alternatives, as retailers in Leipzig are demonstrating.

Shortly before eight p.m. at the city"s main train station. While other shops are about to close for the night, customers here can keep on shopping. And business is booming.

Asked to describe their business year, retailer Antje Roll, jewellery dealer says:

"This year? So far it"s been great. I"m satisfied. And we"re expecting top sales for Christmas."

The Leipzig train station shopping centre has 140 shops. They"re open seven days a week until 10 p.m.

Margitta Blochwitz, retailer: "As a business, we can"t complain at all. We"re busy with customers until ten p.m. In fact, when we want to close our doors we have to remind customers it"s closing time.

We have to ask them to go home. That"s the way it is."

Looking for the right shopping strategy

Together with the shopping centre"s manager, Stefan Zeiselmaier, the retailers are working out their strategy for the Christmas season. They hope to attract more customers to the centre by offering entertainment.

Stefan Zeiselmaier: "In addition to shopping, we"re offering a kind of recreation through a variety of activities - like cooking contests where celebrities and customers face off. That motivates shoppers and I"ve noticed time and again that people enjoy that kind of thing. Or, if it fits a particular theme, we"ll let animals stroll through the building. Recently we had an emperor penguin here. It"s quite a sight when an emperor penguin waddles along the promenade with children following behind".

According to the shop manager, there is a ot to offer to make shopping more attractive - such as sports activities or sports clubs making presentations. "These are themes that interest visitors, and when I ask them they tell me they not only come here to shop, but also simply to relax and enjoy their free time," Zeiselmaier says.

But the real reason for the success of the Leipzig centre is that stores in the train station remain open after eight p.m. The shops around the corner are already closed.