Radebeuler entrepreneur is fighting for survival: Vika shop threatens!

Radebeuler entrepreneur is fighting for survival: Vika shop threatens!

in Radebeul fights for the preservation of her vica shop, which offers a wide range of products, including decoration, sustainable fragrance candles, fashion, jewelry, delicatessen, plants and living textiles. The shop has only been active online since its foundation in 2013 before it was moved to a new location on Meißner Strasse in 2022 in a former bookbinding building. With an area of 178 square meters, the location offers good conditions, since trams of line 4 hold directly in front of the door and there are customer parking spaces.

However, a large construction site on the main traffic artery made a big burst from September to mid -November 2023: During this time, sales fell by 80 percent, since the shop was often unavailable due to the construction site. "I had to leave the business on the corner of Meißner, Hauptstraße because I couldn't pay bills on time," explains Breiter. Despite the difficult circumstances, she integrated two parcel shops (DPD and GLS) into her business to attract customers, but the financial support from this measure was only limited.

challenges in inpatient trade

The problems of wider are not unique. The stationary retail is facing high vacancies and closures nationwide, which is reinforced by an increase in online positions and unattractive city centers. In particular, niche business, which also includes the vica shop, is increasingly disappearing due to a lack of demand and relocating on the Internet. According to a survey, fewer than half of the German city centers are recommended, which indicates a deeper crisis that mainly does smaller businesses.

In Radebeul, Breiter has already submitted six applications for new rental areas, but so far it has only been canceled. Your goal is to find a new location with at least 60 square meters of sales space, ideally in a convenient location. In order to alleviate her financial difficulties, she started a call for donations and is actively looking for markets to present her products.

future prospects and online strategies

Despite the challenges, Breiter plans to rebuild their 2025 online shop. It attaches great importance to contact with her regular customers and former employees in order to maintain the business in difficult times. In the context of current developments in retail, it is essential that small business owners find innovative solutions.

cities must consider alternative usage concepts for the numerous empty buildings, e.g. B. cultural areas or gastronomies to breathe new life into stationary trade. Omnichannel concepts that include a combination of online and inpatient sale could be a solution to improve the shopping experience. Nevertheless, it remains optimistic: "I continue to fight for my business and the philosophy behind it."

As the current developments in inpatient trade show, both dealers and cities must pull together together in order to increase the attractiveness of the city centers and analyze the needs of everyone interested. In view of the dramatic changes in the purchase culture, Schirin Breiter is not alone.

More about the situation of inpatient trade in Germany Read on Schwaebische.de .

More details about Schirin Breiter and her vika shop can be found on Saechsische.de