Victoria Beckham has taken German stores by storm, but many World Cup fans
here have done little to justify shopping hours that were pushed into
overtime.
Supermarkets, boutiques, bookshops, music stores and more have been staying
open until 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), at least two hours later than usual, to cash in
on the biggest sporting event in the world.
But two weeks into the World Cup, tired staff say so few people take
advantage of the extension that they might as well have been in front of the
television following matches like everybody else.
"It is not worth the trouble, and while I'm here I cannot even watch the
football," a young man in an empty cobblery in Gesundbrunnen, just north of
Berlin, remarked around 9:00 pm.
"It has not brought us one euro more in profit, just a lot of extra costs,"
he added, declining to give his name for fear of angering the management of the
countrywide shoe repair chain.
At the nearby Yves Rocher cosmetics store, the empty floor and the boss'
frown said it all.
Christina Krause, the manager of the local outlet of the Thalia chain of
bookstores, said she has already done her calculations and concluded that "this
is costing far more money than it is bringing in."
German businesses had to seek special permission from the country's 16 states
to open longer during the World Cup, and most of the regional governments
agreed.
The idea was to live up to the host nation's official World Cup slogan, "A
Time to Make Friends" by obliging visiting supporters who wish or need to shop,
and at the same time to banish Germany's image as something of a retail desert.
The summer weather has played along, but the fans have shunned the malls and
made a bee-line for the exuberant street parties and the country's famous beer
gardens.
