The trade association managing director Rainer Will said today, Thursday, at an online press conference. The private interest group carried out a current survey among its member companies, and 160 dealers gave feedback.
17 percent of those surveyed said that they were already dealing with delivery bottlenecks and delays, for example with cooking oil or grain. 50 percent of retailers fear further delays and bottlenecks in the coming days caused by a chain reaction in international trade flows. All in all, retailers are expecting a war-related drop in sales of eight percent.
The direct trade relations between domestic traders and the Ukraine and Russia are of course still manageable: Nine percent operate branches in one of the two countries, 21 percent have suppliers or producers in the Ukraine. “The events of the war should not be underestimated and they are hitting trade in addition to the corona pandemic,” said Will. The desire to consume is also falling among people in Austria as a result of the war.
In terms of the number of employees and sales, the retail, wholesale and car trade have already exceeded the pre-crisis level, but there are major structural shifts within individual sectors. Online trade, pharmacies, groceries, furniture and electrical goods were among the winners, while the fashion and shoe trade were among the losers. In the case of dealers who are particularly affected, the equity ratios are almost exhausted, and inflation is also nipping at purchasing power.
Will also pointed out that there are currently 20,000 vacancies in retail. 28 percent of the companies had to close their business at least once due to a lack of staff, 24 percent could not guarantee normal operations due to the shortage of employees.
Source: Nachrichten
