shops are becoming more important (at a li- mited number of locations) and discounters are gaining ground (promotional product markets are one of the few business forms
the ambience and shopping experience of a city. An inner city visitor is definitely more inspired by boutique store windows and less by supermarkets or bank branches.
supply chain and waste regulations also don’t make life easier. And then we often have very peculiar fees, like the charge for commercial rental contracts. The latest discussions are focused on the preferential treatment of e-commerce: Internet retailers can be open 24/7 and hire staff with other (more business friendly) collective agreements, while brick and mortar retail is fighting with much less efficient weapons – to use a fairly martial metaphor.
that are actual- ly expanding), while the “broad middle” is shrinking. Struggling companies like
Luxury shops are beco- ming more important and discounters are gaining ground, while the “broad middle” is shrinking.
What can be done to counter this development? It appears to be really problematic at some locations.
kika/Leiner, Gerry Weber, Jones, My Shoes, Reno, Hallhuber, Northland, Palmers, Esprit etc. illustrate this trend. This list shows that the clothing branch has been particularly impacted by this development. Over the past decade, fashion & shoes have lost 120,000 sqm of space in Austria’s 24 largest inner cities. Clothing stores occupied nearly one-third of all shop space in 2014, but only take up slightly more than one-fourth today. For the appeal of inner cities, this decline is even more significant than the quantitative share of retail space because these shops define
Cities, retailers and property owners
are constantly hearing what they should do differently and what they should do better. But today, I want to emphasize the point that politics and the public authorities ur- gently need to do their homework because the retail trade is definitely suffering from a bureaucratic overload. In Austria, the retail trade is one of the most heavily regulated branches. For example: Driving and delivery bans make it difficult to supply branch locations, nine different regional development acts don’t really create transparency, and the EU
In conversation
Roman Schwarzenecker
Secretary General of ACSP - Shareholder and Corporate Officer, Standort+Markt
Austria | 2025/26
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