The Christmas holidays are approaching – and with it the pressure to find a suitable gift for family and friends increases. Some Rosenheim business owners reveal how business is going and what the most popular gifts are this year.
Rosenheim – Brigitte Wagner has been waiting for a delivery for over two weeks. The owner of the Beer bookstore has ordered a delivery of the bestseller “You can also fall to the heights” by Joachim Meyerhoff. “This book is particularly popular at Christmas time,” she says. But the wait should soon be over – according to Wagner, the book will be available again in the next few days. In principle, she couldn't complain about the sales figures in the Christmas business. Purchased less a few years ago. “People are more frugal,” she says.
Alexander Berg, owner of the delicatessen “Delicato,” can confirm Wagner’s observations. But: “We are satisfied with our sales,” he says. The best sellers in his shop are gift baskets with sparkling wines and truffle mushrooms.
Trim Llugiqi, market manager of Rewe Llugiqi at Gillitzerblock, also sees rather moderate sales figures. “We do have Christmas items such as chocolate and calendars, but they are selling significantly less than ten years ago,” he says. Of the Christmas items that people buy, mulled wine is the most popular.
Merkel biography as a bestseller
Stefanie Wild, the deputy branch manager of the Bensegger bookstore in Rosenheim, sees a high demand for children's books. But according to her, fiction such as “Munk” by Jan Weiler and Meyerhoff’s “Man can also fall into the heights” are also often bought as gifts. The sales figures this year are about the same as last year. In addition to books, calendars also sell very well, emphasizes Wild. “We have picture calendars with works of art and landscapes depicted, but desk calendars also sell well.”
Nicole Dengel, from Confiserie Dengel, can also look back on a good Christmas season. Dubai chocolate in particular, which has also been produced in the pastry shop in recent months, has become a Christmas hit. “The chocolate is being bought faster than we can put it on the shelves,” she says. In addition to the trendy chocolate, gift baskets with chocolates and Christmas figures made of chocolate are also popular. “More of them were sold this year than in previous years,” says Dengel.
Dubai chocolate is also popular at Galeria in Rosenheim, as branch manager Jens Steinbrecher says: “Starbulls fan items, perfume, watches and high-quality jewelry are popular purchases,” he says. Winter items such as cashmere sweaters and jackets as well as Lego toys for children are also very popular this year. He doesn't want to make a comparison to previous years, but the closer Christmas gets, the more customers notice Steinbrecher in the store.
Popular classic: mulled wine
Bünyamin Görgülü, the market manager of Edeka Görgülü, could not complain about the sales figures. “We are selling at least as much this year as the year before,” he says. The most popular items include mulled wine, punch, chocolate Santas and cookie baking mixes. “It’s the same products as every year, so there’s not much difference from previous years.”
The trend towards the classic mulled wine is also evident in the “Gewürzmühle” shop, which produces in Bad Endorf and is also sold online from Stephanskirchen. According to Lydia Seidinger, the deputy manager, mulled wine and punch spices are particularly popular among the Christmas spices. “Chili and pepper spices are also in demand,” she says. According to Seidinger, significantly more spices will be sold this year than the year before. “That’s because we know more people now,” she says.
“Basically satisfied”
When contacted by OVB, the spokeswoman for the Rossmann drugstore chain was unable to name any local trends in Rosenheim. “Basically, we are very satisfied with the Christmas business in the Rossmann branches in Rosenheim so far,” says the spokeswoman.
