German giant beats recession

Fielmann, Germany's giant opticians, continues its improvement in a difficult domestic market, latest financial figures reveal.

Its revival has led to the business planning to create hundreds of new jobs in the profession later this year.

Fielmann - which started offering its own insurance deals after the Berlin government ended insurance for spectacles, which triggered a 30 per cent fall in sales in the optical sector - revealed that second quarter sales were up 29 per cent to €218.8m. Unit sales of spectacles increased by 27 per cent compared to what the company called the 'recession year of 2004', to 1.4 million pairs.

Pre-tax profits rose by 48 per cent to €24.7m in the three months to June 30, while profit after tax increased by 51 per cent to 16m.

A spokesman for the business said the company would continue to expand, and expected to improve financially.

'For the year as a whole we are forecasting double digit growth in unit sales and sales, and an upturn in profit,' he said.
'We are set to open a total of 15 new branches before the end of the year, creating 300 additional jobs.'

However, with a German general election taking place this month there are fears that a victory for the opposition Christian Democratic Union will lead to a new hurdle for the country's retailers.

Reports claim that if the CDU is elected, it will impose increases on VAT, which will undoubtedly dampen Germany's consumer spending.
Fielmann has over 500 outlets, the majority of those in Germany, but it also has stores in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Poland.