The German economy is shaken by the COVID-19 virus . Seemingly every day the measures imposed are getting tougher and public life has come to an almost complete standstill in large parts of the country. While food retailers and other basic suppliers are experiencing a veritable run of worried customers, all other retailers had to close their businesses until further notice.

The retail sector is in full emergency mode. Several retailers already announced drastic staff cuts. Although the government has launched the most extensive government aid programs in history, uncertainty is growing day by day: Will government aid arrive in time? Will it be sufficient? Will my business survive the shutdown?

No one knows whether the state-imposed measures to contain the virus will last a few weeks or even several months. But learnings from Asia indicate that we should expect at least two months or more of unprecedented circumstances.

April 2020

Contacts

Kerstin Lehmann
Partner

Joachim Bähre
Partner

Gerrit Iwanovski
Associate Director