International Update: German Bookstores to Reopen

The German government is allowing bookstores to open again next Monday, March 8, Börsenblatt reported. Along with flower shops and garden markets, bookstores are part of a limited loosening of the hard lockdown that started in mid-December.

Alexander Skipis, head of the Börsenverein, the German book industry association, commented, "We're very happy that bookstores will reopen on Monday across the country. Considering that the Chancellor and state governors consider bookstores essential businesses, they recognize the important contribution that bookstores make to society. They are places of cultural exchange, of inspiration and the transfer of content. The decision [to let bookstores open] is also important from an economic perspective, since the store closings have hurt the industry a lot. We are thankful to the political authorities for their validation and support, especially culture minister Monika Grütters, who has been very supportive of the needs of the book industry."

The openings have to meet the usual conditions involving safety, hygiene and limits on the number of customers allowed in the stores.

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Danish bookshops were allowed to re-open March 1, but this applied only to high street stores of less than 5,000 square meters (about 53,820 square feet), with other stores still remaining closed," the European and International Booksellers Federation's Newsflash reported.

In the Netherlands, non-essential retailers were set to re-open March 3, though shops can be visited by appointment only, with a limit of two customers per floor allowed inside, irrespective of overall shop size.

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Latvian booksellers "are pleased to see customers return to the stores" a month after reopening from a mid-December lockdown, Latvian Radio (lsm.lv) reported, adding that "bookstore owners are very pleased about the opportunity to work and the gradual return of buyers. Libraries have also been reopened since January 12, but their reading rooms are still closed for visitors."

"I'll say it's slow, but we're moving again," said Velga Biseniece, manager of Smiltene's only bookstore, which permits two customers inside at the same time. "But people are happy, they come. Of course, it's not a food shop--a person comes, they want to look at everything, see what's new. It's not like one runs in and out. One usually dwells."

The share of Internet purchases increased for Jānis Roze bookstores, but turnover has been affected by the fact that many of the company's bookshops are located in malls.

Vija Kilbloka, owner of publisher Zvaigzne ABC, which has more than 30 bookshops in Latvia, has seen a significant increase for online purchases: "People want to come and buy on-site. But there are undoubtedly also people who are understandably cautious. We see that the number of books orders on the Internet has increased. At the moment, when bookstores are open, it has fallen, but it is not a big fall. Books on the Internet are ordered a lot more than they were last year during this period."

Although total turnover has fallen 10%-15% compared to last year, due in part to closing bookstores just before Christmas, Kilbloka noted that the main thing was getting back to work: "We're working with great pleasure--I've returned to life!" --Robert Gray

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