“The situation in Rotterdam and Amsterdam is back to the dramatic level of three months ago,” writes the interest group. In this way, the life work of entrepreneurs would be ‘destroyed’.
Turnover much lower in affected areas
Inretail is not satisfied with the state of affairs in making the decision. “The sudden introduction of confrontational measures such as in Amsterdam and Rotterdam should no longer happen. Entrepreneurs are interested and have the right to be involved in decisions with major consequences.”
How great these consequences are, according to the organization, can hardly be underestimated. In Rotterdam, turnover in recent weeks would be around 55 percent from the same period last year. In other cities this is already 70 to 90 percent.
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‘Hit disproportionately’
A spokesperson for Inretail says that e-mails were received directly two weeks ago, including from entrepreneurs with shops inside and outside a masking area. “Suddenly things went much worse at one of the stores, there is only one reason for that.”
In a letter to the mayor of Rotterdam, the entrepreneurs did not bother about it: “Entrepreneurs feel disproportionately affected and destroyed, because their customers now visit other shopping areas and shop even more online. The municipality seems to have been affected by entrepreneurs to date. to abandon their fate. “
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Understanding and resistance
The entrepreneurs write that they understand that measures are necessary, but they are opposed to the masks because the need for them has not been demonstrated, nor is their effectiveness.
A similar letter to the Amsterdam mayor is currently being worked on, the spokesman said. There too, the board is blamed for not paying enough attention to the difficult situation in which entrepreneurs find themselves. “I have not heard of empathy for entrepreneurs,” said the Inretail spokesperson.
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No compensation
Yesterday there was already a conversation in Rotterdam between the shopkeepers and deputy mayor Bert Wijbenga. In any case, that conversation did not have the desired outcome for the retailers.
They wanted financial compensation or an end to the masking obligation. Wijbenga announced afterwards that mouth masks will remain mandatory until August 31, but the municipality does not offer compensation for the lost turnover. However, the government would be lobbied for a compensation scheme.
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