Death of the grocer

Regulations and costs are forcing many to give up

A grocer is often more than just a store. Here, people also take time for a chat and a coffee.

(Bild: Evelyne Schultes)

Excessive regulations and bureaucracy, the coronavirus pandemic and the energy crisis are making it increasingly difficult for grocery stores in the country to continue their business. Excessively high sales due to inflation often also mean that double-entry bookkeeping, which is more difficult, has to be used.

They ensure local supply - our grocers. But they are much more: an information hub, a contact point for problems and often, when the last pub in town has closed, a place for a coffee and a chat. However, coronavirus, the economic crisis, energy prices and fierce competition from large corporations are making it difficult for grocers. Some shopkeepers have now come up with solutions.

Local inspection: It smells of fresh coffee and tasty baked goods when you enter Sonja Schinhan's Greißlerei in Schrattenberg. She has been running the "Nah & Frisch" store here in the Weinviertel region since 2017 - with a lot of love and enthusiasm. She is also joined by her colleague Renate Wagner, who has been managing a department store with three employees in Asparn an der Zaya since 2018. Wagner reports: "Working around the coronavirus was difficult. As we also offer home deliveries, of course, we were able to supply many customers." The economic crisis came after corona: costs for heating, electricity and staff costs have risen sharply. Pre-financing for recycling machines and many ancillary costs also add up. Some traders are therefore left with less and less. Added to this is the bureaucratic burden. Many requirements have to be fulfilled, control books have to be kept. And if the annual turnover exceeds 750,000 euros - and this is happening to more and more domestic traders due to inflation alone - they have to switch from income and expenditure accounting to the much more difficult double-entry bookkeeping.

It is precisely this problem that the grocers are hoping for a solution to. And Karl Wilfing, President of the Provincial Parliament, has assured them of his support: "A delegation of the merchants concerned visited me in St. Pölten. We talked at length about the situation of these local suppliers, who are really important in many regions", explains Wilfing. In the meantime, the ÖVP politician has contacted his party colleagues. "We hope that the issue will be examined and resolved immediately as part of the coalition negotiations at federal level," says Wilfing.

"We also want people to feel comfortable in the village," Wagner and Schinhan conclude - let's hope that this succeeds