Dr Sven Spork The heads of REWE, Edeka, Aldi and the Schwarz Group explain in a joint letter to Chancellery Minister Wolfgang Schmidt and other politicians: "Based on our almost two years of experience with the pandemic, we can conclude that the retail sector with the appropriate hygiene concepts (mainly compulsory masks and social distancing) is not a source of infection." This applies regardless of the product ranges sold. The top managers therefore urge: "Companies should now be allowed to welcome and serve their customers without further restrictions using the tried and tested hygiene concepts."

Divisional Director Dr Sven Spork explains why the unaffected food retailers in particular are now campaigning for their industry: "We can see that the 2G rule is causing considerable implementation effort for our colleagues and is also leading to a loss of revenue and earnings due to lower footfall. Owner-managed shops in particular are suffering as a result, many of which are currently struggling massively, even though they operate very attractive concepts from a customer perspective. The serious impact on city centres is often already evident. With our demand, we want to show solidarity with the retailers affected."

The federal and state governments decided on the 2G rule for large parts of the retail sector at the beginning of December last year in view of the rising coronavirus incidence figures. This excludes everyday shops such as supermarkets, drugstores and pharmacies. However, the regulation has already been overturned by courts in several federal states.