On December 13th and 20th, furniture stores should be allowed to unlock to better distribute the influx of customers after lockdown.
Kika / Leiner boss Reinhold Gütebier
In order to save the Christmas business after the lockdown, Kika / Leiner CEO Reinhold Gütebier is demanding that politicians be able to open his furniture stores on the two Sundays on December 13th and 20th. “I am absolutely in favor of the Sunday opening,” said Gütebier to the KURIER on Saturday. “If I could, I would open my 42 Kika and Leiner branches on the two Sundays without any ifs or buts,” said the company boss.
The Sunday opening is absolutely consumer-friendly, as families then have time to choose durable goods in peace. Anyone who does not recognize this is ignoring the needs of consumers.
Gütebier thus supports a corresponding initiative by the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Harald Mahrer, this week, which, however, immediately met with criticism from the union, smaller dealers and health organizations. The risk of large crowds in front of the cash registers and thus an increased risk of infection with the corona virus is too great, it said.
Distribute customer frequency better
Gütebier does not share the concerns of an increased risk of Covid infection through Sunday shopping. On the contrary. Another opening day before Christmas would distribute the customer frequency better. After three weeks of lockdown there is definitely a lot of catching up to do with purchases. It is therefore only logical to spread the rush of customers over several days.
“Most purchases are made on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. If we add Sunday to that, we will equalize the weekend frequency by a full day,” argues Gütebier. Hygiene and safety measures are of course taken care of in the branches, the distance rules can be observed much better on 20,000 m2 sales areas than in small shops. Even with the reopening of the shops in May, there was more customer frequency, but no problems with the distance rules.
“The pictures of crowds in front of the cash registers were completely exaggerated, it didn't happen that way in the houses,” says Gütebier. You have to learn to deal with the corona virus correctly, but you shouldn't ignore customer needs.
“Pays off”
The Sunday opening would also pay off economically for the furniture dealer. “There are very clear analyzes that show that 60 percent of Sunday sales come on top and 40 percent are spread out,” explains Gütebier. He refers to his many years of experience as a trade manager in Germany (at the furniture dealer Segmüller, note), which is open on four Sundays a year. “The bottom line was that the Sunday opening paid off for us three times.” The positive effect of a Sunday opening cannot be discussed away.
1,000 employees on short-time work
The Kika / Leiner Group currently employs around 4,500 people in 26 Kika and 16 Leiner furniture stores. Due to the lockdown, 1,500 employees are currently on short-time work again. Gütebier rules out a reduction in staff and possible branch closings due to the Corona crisis. After the restructuring steps, the company is again focusing on expansion.
New additions in 2021
In the next twelve months, the company boss wants to hire around 200 new employees, preferably older unemployed people. Talks with the AMS have already taken place. “We have to face the social task”. Gütebier has extended its management contract with owner Signa for a further three years.
The Signa group of the Tyrolean investor Rene Benko took over Kika / Leiner in June 2018 as part of an emergency sale from the ailing German-South African furniture company Steinhoff. The furniture chain closed four locations in Austria by the end of 2018, and more than 700 employees (on a full-time basis) lost their jobs.
