Achtung Christmas Shoppers

The festively decorated Galeria Kaufhof department store in this western German town is cutting prices on items from fleece sweaters to toy castles. At the Karstadt store across the street, the discounts range from cashmere sweaters to fondue sets.

Not too long ago, these sales would have been against the law.

In contrast to the U.S., where pre-Christmas price cuts play a key part in retailers' strategies -- and shoppers' buying plans -- holiday sales mark a small revolution in European retailing. For decades, European retailers could cut prices only during certain periods set by the government. The winter sales, usually in January, came too late for cash-strapped Christmas shoppers.

In 2004, Germany's retail laws changed to allow stores to hold sales when they please, but most retailers still kept prices high in the holiday season. Now, though, that last remnant of traditional retail regulation is cracking as well.

'It's so practical that the rigid rules for sales have been lifted,' says Ute Schoppe, a 50-year-old mother of two in Berlin who bought a ski suit for her 9-year-old son, Leon, at almost half-price last week. 'In the past, I always had to pay attention not to miss the first days of the sale, because the real bargains sold out right away, and I often didn't feel like fighting the crowds. Now there are even sales before Christmas, and I can take my time comparing prices.'

Germany's Bild tabloid newspaper recently highlighted the still-novel sales in a story headlined, 'More than 500 amazing Christmas bargains -- save up to 75%.' The concept is so foreign that signs in stores often use the English word 'sale.'

European retail regulation began to loosen in the 1990s, pushed by efforts to harmonize European Union states' laws, the onslaught of global competition, and the rise of Internet retailing that allowed for cross-border bargain hunting and shopping outside strictly regulated store hours.

In large parts of the Continent, governments have dropped restrictions on store hours -- for instance allowing Sunday openings. In France, where the government still regulates even the setting of retail prices, President Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a bill to overhaul the country's deeply entrenched shopping regulations.

'Across Europe, decision-making responsibility is shifting from the state to the retailers,' says Wolfgang Twardawa, an economist with the Society for Consumer Research in Nuremberg, Germany.

But moves to change the rules for when and how people shop have come slowly and brought public soul-searching about life in a consumer society -- as well as stiff resistance from trade unions, churches, and small retailers who say increased flexibility hurts store workers and benefits only large chains.

In Germany, it took years of intense debate to eliminate a Nazi-era law that prohibited haggling and put limits on bonus schemes such as store-loyalty cards. Enacted in 1933 after the economic instability following World War I, the so-called Discount Law and another regulation passed at the time, the Free Gift Act banning giveaways except for trinkets, were seen as a way to protect the distribution of goods to consumers, and to protect consumers from the vagaries of the free market. For the Nazis, it was also a way to hurt the country's department-store owners -- many of them Jewish -- who had been experimenting with creative sales strategies.

The Discount Law lived on beyond the war years because many consumers saw a need to protect small shopkeepers from large retail chains. Some thought that consumers, too, needed protection. It wasn't until this set of laws was scrapped in 2001 that retailers could offer deals like gifts with purchases and discounts for volume buys.

'Germans tend to adhere to structures and rhythms that don't change,' says Rolf Pangels, managing director of the retail federation BaG in Berlin. 'And they tend to want a law for everything. An American wouldn't understand all the laws we have here.'

Germany passed another milestone on the way toward a U.S.-style consumer society when it dropped strict national store-closing laws last year, leaving the rules up to the states. In many regions, stores can now open or close whenever they want.

'We enjoy being able to take a relaxed shopping trip after work,' says Annekathrin Nagel, a 45-year-old postal worker out shopping in Berlin one recent night. 'Opening hours should regulate themselves through demand and supply.'

Kaufhof, a unit of retail giant Metro AG, now keeps big-city stores open until 10 p.m. Since the law changed, it also runs more frequent promotions throughout the year. The retailer says the new flexibility to set prices and store hours have boosted sales and market share.

'We are definitely benefiting compared to others who don't adapt to the new conditions,' says Thomas Fett, a director with Kaufhof in Cologne.

Rival department-store chain Karstadt, a unit of Arcandor AG, now runs promotions at least six times a year that include new products, lavish store decorations, special shopping bags -- and discounts.

Retail federation BaG found that since the lifting of the restriction on sales in 2004, retailers have more than tripled the number of big sales they hold throughout the year, and offer spot promotions almost constantly. 'The amount of goods sold has increased,' says the federation's Mr. Pangels. 'But the resulting growth in revenues depends on the size of the discounts. With discounts of 30% or 40%, the retailer's margin is small.'

Europe is still a long way from the shop-till-you-drop fervor of the U.S. Remnants of past regulation live on in laws such as the German 'Price Labeling Decree,' which mandates that anything in shop windows must carry a price tag to ensure consumers instantly know an item's affordability. In France, the government still sets minimum prices retailers must pay suppliers. Even in Britain, one of the most deregulated and shopper-friendly countries in Europe, large stores can't open for more than six hours on Sunday.

Some shoppers say they prefer regulation. 'Stores should not be open too long, so that the sales people can rest,' says Sophie Coumel, 33, who works for a Franco-German youth organization in Berlin and was buying a present at a Kaufhof store one recent evening. Shopping for a suit nearby, Jakob Lange, a 24-year-old student, agreed. 'Stores should stay closed on Sunday,' he said. 'I was raised Christian and consider this part of Christian culture.'

And retailers haven't completely abandoned the traditional twice-yearly, inventory-clearing sales at the long-established times. 'For 50 years, consumers have had in their heads that prices go down in January and July, so why wouldn't we work with that?' says Michael Scheibe, a spokesman for Karstadt, Germany's biggest department-store chain measured by sales.

That said, the retailer allows itself more flexibility: While in the past, sales by law began on the last Mondays in January and July, Karstadt may move up the date by a few days if a competitor starts early.

Some retailers in Europe, such as Galeries Lafayette SA in Paris and Harrods PLC in London, still stick to a full-priced Christmas.

'Why would you sell something at a reduced price at a time when people are desperate to buy anyway?,' says Peter Willasey, a spokesman for Harrods, where the sale starts on Dec. 28. 'There is little or no need to discount before Christmas. It's such a feeding frenzy.'

But that view is increasingly rare. Britain's Asda, a unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., cut around $300 million in prices on Christmas-related items. General retailer Marks & Spencer PLC, drugstore chain Alliance Boots PLC and department stores House of Fraser PLC and Debenhams PLC are all offering big holiday markdowns. Across Britain, holiday discounts are deeper and more widespread than last year, according to a report published by Ernst & Young Global Ltd. on Friday.

Some Europeans are using the weakness of the dollar to take advantage of sales in the place where they are truly a way of life: the U.S. On a pre-Christmas shopping trip to New York with two girlfriends, Londoner Lindsay Taylor, a 40-year-old law-enforcement official, spent six hours at Macy's. Her proudest bargain: a Ralph Lauren handbag marked down to $80 from $244.

'There was a free-for-all, grab-all-you-can feel to it,' Ms. Taylor says. 'But it was also really stressful.'

德国西部小镇杜塞尔多夫的考夫霍夫百货商店(Galeria Kaufhof)洋溢着节日气氛，店里的商品从毛衣到城堡拼装玩具都在降价促销。街对面的卡尔施泰特(Karstadt)店里，从羊绒衫到干酪溶化器皿等各种商品也都在打折。

但是类似这样的打折促销活动在不久前还是违法的。

在美国，圣诞节前的打折活动在零售商的战略中和消费者的购物计划中都是关键的一环；与之相反，节日促销在欧洲却是零售业一次小小的革命。几十年来，欧洲的零售商只能在政府规定的时间进行打折促销。而通常在1月份才开始的冬季促销活动对圣诞节疯狂购物之后手头拮据的购物者来说已为时过晚。

2004年德国对零售法律进行了修订，允许商店随时进行打折促销，但是大部分零售商在圣诞节期间仍旧不打折。不过现在传统零售规则最后的这一丝痕迹也要被抹去了。

现年50岁的乌特•斯高皮(Ute Schoppe)住在柏林，是两个孩子的母亲。上周她为9岁的儿子里昂(Leon)买的滑雪服几乎整整便宜了一半。她说，对促销时间的苛刻规定被取消了，这太实用了。过去她必须时时注意不要错过促销的头几天，因为好东西立刻就会被抢购一空，而她又不喜欢在人群里挤来挤去。现在甚至在圣诞节前也有促销活动，她可以从容地比较价格。

德国报纸Bild最近在一篇题为《500多种超值圣诞打折商品──最低2.5折》的文章中特别报导了刚刚实行的圣诞促销。圣诞促销这个概念在德国过于新奇，以致于商店常常使用“甩卖”(sale)这个英语词。

20世纪90年代，欧盟各成员国法律的不断融合、全球竞争的涌现，以及互联网零售业的兴起使消费者能跨境购买打折商品或在严格规定的营业时间外购物，欧洲的零售法规因此开始放宽。

在欧洲大陆的大部分国家和地区，政府已经取消了对商店营业时间的限制。比如，现在商店在周日也可以营业。在法国，政府仍然对零售价格的制定进行调控，目前萨科齐(Nicolas Sarkozy)总统正准备起草一项法案，对法国根深蒂固的购物法规进行改革。

德国纽伦堡消费者研究学会(Society for Consumer Research)的经济学家沃尔夫冈•特瓦尔达瓦(Wolfgang Twardawa)说，在欧洲各地，决策权正从政府手中转移到零售商手中。

但是改变有关营业时间和营业方式的规定不仅进展缓慢，引发公众对消费社会的生活进行深思，而且还受到了工会、教堂和小型零售商的强烈反对，他们称营业时间和方式变得更加灵活会损害店员利益，而且只对大型连锁店才有好处。

德国花了数年的时间进行激烈的讨论，最终才取消了纳粹时期制定的禁止讨价还价并限制商店会员卡等促销方式的法律。由于经历了第一次世界大战后的经济动荡时期，德国于1933年制定了所谓的《折扣法》和禁止赠送除小饰品之外赠品的《赠品法》，人们认为这些法律可以保护零售商的利益，同时保护消费者不会因自由市场的变幻莫测而受到损害。对纳粹来说，这还是一种打击德国百货商店店主的方法，这些店主中很多都是犹太人，他们一直在尝试采用创新性的销售战略。

因为很多消费者认为需要保护小型零售店免受来自大型零售连锁店的激烈竞争，《折扣法》一直到战后仍然有效。一些人认为消费者也需要保护。直到2001年这些法律被废除了，零售商才可以提供购物赠品和大宗购物打折。

柏林BaG零售联盟的董事总经理罗尔夫•潘格尔斯(Rolf Pangels)说，德国人倾向于固守一成不变的组织和节奏，喜欢所有事情都有法可依。美国人是无法理解德国这些五花八门的法律的。

去年德国取消了对店铺营业时间作出严格限制的全国性法律，让各州自行制订规章，由此实现了向美国式消费社会转变的重大转折。现在，许多地区的店铺都可以想开到几点就开到几点。

不久前的一个晚上，在柏林购物的45岁邮政职员安妮凯瑟琳•纳格尔(Annekathrin Nagel)说：“我们喜欢下班后能轻松地逛逛街购购物。商店的营业时间应当根据供需状况作出调整。”

零售巨头麦德龙(Metro AG)旗下的Kaufhof现在让大城市的店铺开到晚上10点。自从法令更改后，该公司全年的促销活动也更频繁了。这家零售商表示，定价和营业时间的零活性推动了销售额和市场份额的增长。

科隆Kaufhof的一位主管托马斯•费特(Thomas Fett)说：“与不适应新形势的公司相比，我们无疑受益良多。”

Kaufhof的竞争对手、Arcandor AG旗下的百货公司连锁店Karstadt现在每年至少有六次促销活动，举办活动时会有新品推介，店内也装饰一新，还会提供专用购物袋并进行打折促销。

零售业联合会BaG发现，自2004年取消对销售的限制以来，零售商们全年举办大减价活动的次数增加了两倍多，并且现场促销几乎从无间断。BaG的潘格尔斯(Pangels)说，货物的销售量增加了，但最终的收入增长取决于打折的力度。如果是打三折或四折的话，零售商的利润空间就很小了。

欧洲离美国那种“让你逛到逛不动”的火热境界还差得远。一些法令中依然残留着过去的陈规，如德国的“价格标签法”(Price Labeling Decree)规定，商店橱窗里展示的任何货品都必须附有价签，以确保消费者能即时知晓某件东西自己是否买得起。在法国，政府仍然设定了零售商向供货商支付的最低价格。就是在管制程度最低、购物最便利的欧洲国家──英国，大型商店周日的营业时间也不能超过六个小时。

一些购物者表示他们宁愿实施管制。33岁的苏菲•科美尔(Sophie Coumel)在柏林的一个法德青年组织工作，她前不久的一个晚上在Kaufhof旗下一家商店买礼物时说：“商店不应该开得太久，这样销售人员才能休息。”在旁边买衣服的24岁学生雅各布•兰格(Jakob Lange)表示赞同。他说：“周日商店应该关门歇业。我从小就是基督教徒，觉得这是基督教传统的一部分。”

零售商也还没有完全摒弃长久以来形成的一年两次清空存货的传统销售活动。德国销售额最大的百货公司连锁店Karstadt的发言人麦克尔•沙伊贝(Michael Scheibe)说：“50年来，消费者都根深蒂固地认为1月和7月东西会减价，那我们干嘛不去迎合这种心理呢？”

虽然如此，零售商们还是表现得更为灵活了：过去，法律规定清仓甩卖只能在1月和7月的最后一个周一开始，但现在如果竞争对手提前开始的话，Karstadt也可能将时间提前个几天。

巴黎的老佛爷百货公司(Galeries LaFayette S.A.)和伦敦的Harrods PLC等一些欧洲零售商仍然坚持圣诞期间保持全价不打折。

Harrods从12月28日开始减价，其发言人彼得•维拉塞(Peter Willasey)说：“为什么要在人们无论怎样都急于买东西的时候去降价呢？圣诞节前几乎没什么必要打折。那时的购物狂潮十分猛烈。”

但这种观点越来越少见了。英国的Asda是沃尔玛连锁公司(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)旗下的企业，其出售圣诞节相关商品的减价让利幅度达到3亿美元。综合零售商马莎百货(Marks & Spencer Group PLC)、杂货连锁店Alliance Boots PLC以及House of Fraser PLC和Debenhams PLC等百货公司都在实行假日大减价。安永(Ernst & Young Global Ltd.)上周五发布的报告称，英国各地假日打折活动的力度和范围都大过去年。

一些欧洲人则借美元走软的机会去美国狂购，在那里，减价真正成了一种生活方式。40岁的执法官员、来自伦敦的林赛•泰勒(Lindsay Taylor)与两位女伴一起去纽约进行圣诞节前购物，她们在Macy's逛了六个小时。她最引以为豪的一件战利品：一个从244美元降价到80美元的Ralph Lauren手提包。

泰勒说：“这样购物有种‘全部免费，能拿多少是多少’的感觉，但也很紧张。”

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