The desperate sigh of relief comes from Brother William Stende, director of Virke Fagandel.
He has just got the figures from Virke Handel’s annual statistics on the table. It’s gloomy reading material.
The drama in a nutshell:
- Turnover fell by 10.2 percent for the clothing industry in the corona year 2020.
- The start of 2021 has offered intensified trouble – a decline of over 20 percent in the first two months of the year.
- Not since 2006 has turnover been lower than now.
- Measured in kroner, the loss is over NOK 3 billion.
Home office – not for everyone
– The clothing industry has been beaten for far too long. And with the closures, the bill will be eased over to the stores when they have to close at short notice, Stende says in a press release from Virke.
Closed trade: – Not accurate
The turnover loss is attributed to corona effects. Norwegians have spent so much time at home that the need for a new work outfit or for a party has almost disappeared. It goes hard on the clothing stores.
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Stende demands that the authorities come on board:
– The shops are left with piles of goods they never got to sell. Virke believes that it must be possible for retail trade companies to apply for the municipalities’ valve scheme to compensate for lost inventories and reduced value of seasonal goods, he says.
H&M closes 250 stores
Virke-top further believes that when the authorities have closed down the workplaces on a couple of hours ‘notice, they must also take responsibility for the companies’ wage costs.
– Everyone must understand that this is not work that can be done from a home office, says Stende.
Nice-great
On top of this, the Norwegian clothing industry is experiencing strong competition from foreign online stores which, according to Virke, operate on unfair terms.
Backlash alerts: – A bomb
Brother William Stende demands that customs duties on clothing be removed.
– Unfair competition from foreign online stores has intensified during the pandemic. Foreign online stores cannot have duty-free access to Norwegian consumers – this puts almost 30,000 jobs at risk. We can not afford that, Stende points out.
Farm owners are challenged
The stores must in any case pay their fixed expenses when they have to close down. Stende now urges that those who own the shop premises join the charity event.
Slaughtering Thon’s prayer to Erna: – Tasteless
– Rent must be paid even if the employees have to stay at home. Here the farm owners must take their share of the bill. When the authorities close down, the tenants can not pay full rent, he believes.
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More bankruptcies
According to Statistics Norway, 85 companies were opened in the clothing trade in 2020.
Among these, we find Wagno with around 30 stores in the clothing chains Brandstad and Wagner, Ricco Vero with 11 stores and Masai Clothing Retail Norway with five stores. The corona virus also meant that the Nøstebarn chain with an online store and five stores had to report a strike.
Alerts tax bomb
– It must be possible to keep shops open during the pandemic, as long as it is justifiable in terms of infection control. Closing of shops has unintended consequences such as increased mobility across municipal boundaries as it is now. Rather strict than closed, encourages Brother William Stende, director of Virke Faghandel.
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