2020-05-03

We build our cities

It has been a tough few years for local shops in Bonn. In November of last year (months before the COVID-19 outbreak), I took notice as more and more shops had been closing that I considered to be real local institutions. I used to think this would destroy the character of my fair city. I now know that no city can lose its character – the people change it to suit their needs.

You can see similar stories pop-up in most cities, pretty much wherever you look. Some local shops get bought out by bigger companies because they can’t compete. Others go out of business completely because they can’t keep up with online giants. Regardless, “the times, they are a changin’” and whoever can adapt will survive in one form or another.

It’s easy to say that this is all tragic and that our cities are dying, but I find it far too easy. It isn’t as cut and dried as that. We decide what we have and what we lose. We can control it and we can shape our cities.

Take for instance, the erstwhile go-to outdoor shop Steppenwolf that was bought up by German chain McTrek. Why? The staff I spoke to told me that Steppenwolf couldn’t keep up with online shops and the bigger chains. Evil, right? Not really – McTrek kept all the employees (many of whom have since moved on, since this was about three years ago) and the owner was friends with the owner of Steppenwolf. So, instead of just closing and putting all the employees on the street, they came to an agreement. The selection is the same, the service is still top-notch, so I have no problem shopping there.

There’s a clothing store here called Sinn. It used to be part of a larger German chain called Sinn Leffers. Most of the chain went out of business, though, because the clothing industry is a hard-fought one. Here, we saw something different happen. The managers of the branch here in Bonn found investors to keep the location open, so they went from a chain to a local shop and they seem to be doing quite well. They are now just called “Sinn”, which works, because that means “sense” in German. Their new slogan means shopping there “makes sense”. Clever.

Uncertain futures and unhappy endings
This one hit me the hardest was a few weeks ago. As a frequent customer, I got a letter from Knauber that they were selling their stores to Bauhaus, a Swiss chain. Happily, they are keeping all the locations and all the employees. The downside here is the uncertainty for how things will continue. You have to understand that Knauber wasn’t just any DIY store. It was famous for all the work they did for children in the neighborhoods. Kids went for cost-free arts and crafts workshops and at the same time, parents could buy stuff. And we did because they had EVERYTHING. I once went and bought hedge clippers, a cast iron skillet, water colors and a sack of soil for the garden. Yes, they were more expensive than most Home Depot-esque stores here, but they also had plenty of staff that all knew what they were talking about in their respective fields. It felt good shopping there. Will they be the same in June when Bauhaus takes over? I doubt it, but time will tell.

When I found out that Puppenkönig was shutting down, I was shocked. By now everyone knows that longevity is no guaranty for success. However, when a toystore has been in business for over 120 years shuts down, most people take notice. Personally, I was sure they were going to be OK. They were adapting and finding new ways to bring in revenues in the face of declining sales thanks to Amazon and their ilk. They had these monthly events where adults could go in to play with Carrera sets or model trains in the evening. They were sold out months in advance and the tickets were not cheap. They really tried to survive and with no other options, they shut their doors in November 2019. We spent a lot of money there, but it just wasn’t enough.

Another closure that surprised me was that of Bäckerei Maus (”Mouse Bakery” in German. Relax, it was just a regular bakery). In its third generation of ownership by the same family, they were well-known in Bonn as being one of the few that still baked bread fresh and from scratch themselves on-site. They were real good and they were the only ones that baked proper German rolls but in the right form for a burger that they sold to a local burger place and got great exposure for that. I frequented their shop, but apparently not enough. I will miss them. The article I linked is really tragic, by the way, so be warned.

Others rise to the challenge
Lots of local shops persevere and rise to the challenge of the changing times; and these times have changed faster and more suddenly than anything in the last several decades. Linnemann, my personal favorite bakery (bake fresh on site, of course), has a facebook page where they post their opening hours, specials and other information and fun posts. For instance, because we all have to stand outside to wait in line due to social distancing norms, they now provide umbrellas for us. That was a nice post.

A book store here, Bücher Bosch has an online shop and, if your order takes too long, they run it to your house if you are close enough. Kessels Espressostudio in Bonn will call you if you order coffee and they don’t have it in stock to see if you’re OK with something else. 3 Schätze did the same when I ordered a meditation matt and cushion. They didn’t have the exact thing I ordered, so I got a personal e-mail asking if I would be OK with something else. It was fine and I felt good, supporting a local shop. We all should.

So yeah, we build our cities, we change them. How we change them is up to us.