First Brexit, then Corona This is how things are going at the British Shop in Meckenheim
Meckenheim · Since Brexit, the United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU. The fact that it could come to this has surprised Robert Siebel of the British Shop in Meckenheim. This is how Brexit affects his business
The news had hit many fans of the British Isle. Shortly before Christmas 2021, it was announced that the English Shop in Bonn's city centre would close. At the turn of the year, the time had come. In the days before, sales of sweets, beer, tea, other food, books and decorative items had taken place. Both the Corona crisis and Brexit had led to significant declines in sales, it had been said.
Robert Siebel also enjoyed shopping there. He regrets the closure and was surprised by the demise of the Bonn branch of the English Shop, he says. The 29-year-old is a professional. After all, he is the manager of "The British Shop“.
Duffle coats, whisky, doormats with Buckingham Palace on them, English Breakfast Tea or accessories with unusual patterns: the family business based in Meckenheim is an El Dorado for the lifestyle between Cornwall and Scotland, the Irish capital Dublin and Belfast in Northern Ireland. However, the Meckenheim British Shop does not share the fate of the English Shop in Bonn - although Brexit and Corona have also left their mark there.
The situation post-Brexit
The beginning of the year marked the first anniversary of the final Brexit. Completed on 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom was no longer part of the EU's single market and customs union from 1 January 2021, after the end of a transition period.
This also has an impact on the work of the Siebel family and their employees. And then there is also the Corona pandemic. Nevertheless, Robert Siebel is satisfied with the situation.
It has, however, become more complicated. "The majority of our suppliers come from the UK," says Siebel. Among them, he says, are small companies that have particular problems with customs requirements. "They tell us they can't supply us any more because the bureaucracy can't be managed with the staff they have."
Good contacts from Meckenheim to Great Britain
As a result, Siebel is currently unable to supply its customers with genuine British ginger wine or with clotted cream, the popular clotted cream that not only the British like to eat with tea, biscuits and jam. They are working on solutions, says Siebel.
The British Shop has been in business for more than 30 years. The Siebel family maintains good contacts in the United Kingdom. And yet: the fact that Brexit happened came as a big surprise to them, says Siebel, who has been working in the company for six years. The companies with which they maintain contacts were all against leaving the EU.
In the end, it didn't help - and the British Shop also had to come to terms with the circumstances. "We sent three employees to customs seminars," Siebel explains. In the meantime, the situation has indeed improved a little. However, deliveries from Great Britain still take longer than before Brexit.
Unreachable in the home office
In addition, there is the Corona pandemic, which has driven many people into the home office, not only in Germany. In Siebel's experience, however, this does not work out so well in the UK. "People can't be reached in the home office. That makes it more difficult," he reports.
Moreover, the topic of Brexit did not only affect the company on the retailer side. "Customer reactions were more extreme than expected in both directions," says Siebel. There was worried feedback from customers about how business was going, but also "unpleasant" messages in which they were called Brexit supporters. "But what outweighed it was the number of people who were happy that we were still open," he says.
And what does Siebel think: will Brexit perhaps be reversed at some point? "I always have that hope," he says, "but in the next two or three years I can't see it happening."
Original text: Christoph Meurer. Translation: Mareike Graepel
