DThe ban on holiday openings of so-called Teo markets imposed by the Kassel Administrative Court is hitting the Main-Kinzig district particularly hard. There are seven locations in the district for the Tegut chain's small markets, which operate without staff: in Hanau, Rodenbach, Schöneck, Freigericht, Gelnhausen, Hasselroth and Steinau. According to district information, the first Teo market in the district was set up in Steinau-Ulmbach in 2021 as a model project. This was achieved with the support of the district administrator and other local politicians.
With the exception of the mini market in Hanau, for which a special regulation applies due to its proximity to the main train station, the markets are now no longer allowed to operate on public holidays and Sundays because, according to the court, this violates the Hessian Shop Opening Act. In the self-service stores, customers were previously able to do their shopping around the clock. After registering at the entrance, the customer receives an email with an activation link that is valid for a limited time. Inside, there are around 1,000 everyday items on a sales area of mostly 50 square meters. The user scans the selected goods on a screen and then pays using their smartphone.
“Fundamental questions still not answered”
According to a company spokesman, Tegut has accepted the court ruling and suspended the holiday opening of the Teo markets in the Main-Kinzig district. It is hoped that politicians will act and bring about a change in the shop opening law in favor of mini markets. What is meant is the intention of the CDU in the Hessian state parliament to reform the law on this point.
District Administrator Thorsten Stolz (SPD) is also calling for the law to be changed as quickly as possible. There are very good reasons to prioritize the issue, especially for the Main-Kinzig district, which is largely rural, says Stolz: “The court has reaffirmed the rights of employees as well as the goal of rest at work and relaxation on Sundays and public holidays . “But this still doesn’t answer fundamental questions,” said the district administrator.
The legislature must ensure that fully automated offers can be operated flexibly and in a legally secure manner in the future, offerings that neither require staff nor significantly take away customers from other stationary retailers. The fully automated service concept represents a good solution for supplying the population, especially in rural areas.
Local businesses want to expand their range of vending machines
“In places where there is practically no local supply that lives up to this name, these locations can really provide relief for citizens, especially when it comes to additional shopping. But it has to pay off somehow in the end. If the fundamental rights of employees remain untouched, which in my opinion is the case here, then the legal status of these offers should be classified more flexibly,” said Stolz.
Last year, the district administrator and the Hesse Trade Association had already spoken out in favor of being able to permanently open staffless and fully digitalized walk-in machines on Sundays. This requires legal certainty, from which domestic companies that are striving for something similar or want to expand their existing vending machine offerings to include a broader range can also benefit. It is not understandable why local supply offers that exist without competition in the wider area should not be flexibly accessible, because they represent a good option for local businesses and for the supply situation of citizens.
Stolz refers to a passage in the coalition agreement of the new Hesse government. It states that Sunday opening for fully automated sales areas, which do not require the use of staff on Sundays, should be made possible by changing the Hessian Shop Opening Act. Against the background of the Kassel court decision, Stolz sees a direct mandate for the Wiesbaden cabinet to take action. “The longer such an amendment to the law takes, the worse it would be for existing offers, not least here in the Main-Kinzig district. The companies' calculations included the – albeit manageable – income from Sundays and public holidays.” Stolz now wants to use the Hessian District Council to promote the participation of the districts in modernizing the shop opening law in order to accelerate a change.
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