BERLIN (dpa-AFX) Locked store doors, glued store windows and dismantled neon signs: In more and more shopping streets in Germany, the death of stores is leaving unmistakable traces. And the outlook for the future is also rather bleak. According to a forecast published on Monday by the German Retail Association (HDE), around 9,000 more stores will close this year alone. Often because people's declining purchasing power and rising costs make it unattractive to continue. This leaves 311,000 stores nationwide - apart from micro-enterprises - according to the HDE. By comparison, there were still nearly 373,000 in 2015.

"In view of the figures of recent years, all alarm bells must be ringing in all city centers and among politicians. Because without successful retail, city centers have hardly any future prospects," warned HDE President Alexander von Preen on Monday. "If retail dies, the city dies."

The fact is, the number of stores in Germany has been shrinking for some time. The decline was particularly sharp in the years 2020 to 2022, which were marked by the Corona pandemic, when the number of stores fell by 11,000 per year. But even in the pre-crisis years of 2015 to 2019, an average of 5000 stores closed each year.

It is mainly the store closures of well-known chains that get public attention: the planned closure of 47 Galeria-Karstadt-Kaufhof department stores, the winding down of numerous branches of the shoe retail chain Görtz or the announced downsizing of the store network of the fashion chain Gerry Weber. But according to the HDE, the majority of the closures are among smaller specialty retailers - fashion boutiques, shoe stores and bakeries.

Not least, online retailing has changed the basis of business in recent years. In the Corona crisis, even more customers have become accustomed to shopping over the Internet as well.

There are many medium-sized retailers who are winding down their boutiques, shoe stores, sports stores or perfumeries without a sound, said HDE CEO Stefan Genth recently. At the same time, many large chains were also thinning out their store networks. "You might not see that in the prime locations yet, but you see it in the districts of big cities, and you see it especially in smaller and medium-sized cities and towns."

Quite a few business models that recently seemed hip and forward-thinking are also suddenly feeling headwinds in the face of many people's declining purchasing power. "Organic specialty stores and farm stores are in part in an existential crisis," said trade expert Stephan Rüschen of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Heilbronn recently. Also many Unverpackt stores had to close.

In view of the vacancies in many cities, the HDE is pushing for greater commitment from the municipalities. It would like to see a start-up offensive to stop the death of stores. "Unbureaucratic and fast approval processes for conversions and rezoning must be at the top of the priority list," von Preen said. New establishments and start-ups need optimal conditions, he added. The deployment of settlement managers in the municipalities could play an important role here. It is in the interest of all concerned to close the gaps in the city centers as quickly as possible, he said. Otherwise, there is a risk of a chain reaction with even more vacancies and a downward spiral, von Preen said.

The fact that the attractiveness of many city centers is already not at its best was shown at the end of last year by a survey of almost 69,000 people in 111 city centers by the Institute for Retail Research (IFH). The answers to the question: "How likely is it that you would recommend this city center to friends or acquaintances" were alarming. In around every second city, the number of those who would not recommend the city center to others outweighed those who would. Visitors found only one in four cities so attractive that they would advise friends to visit. "The fact is that the majority of German city centers, more critics than convinced fans," said IFH Managing Director Boris Hedde afterwards.

According to Rolf Pangels, Managing Director of the German Textile, Footwear and Leather Goods Trade Association (BTE), there is little time left to change this situation: "If planning policy does not finally take clear countermeasures, the further decline of the city centers will be unstoppable.