MittelstandsWiki

Coffee shops are trendsetters for the coffee consumption by Germans. According to Mr. Holger Preibisch, managing director of the German Coffee Association in Hamburg, the rising number of coffee shops shows that the consumption of coffee is becoming a lifestyle factor in Germany. Currently, there are about 1400 coffee shops in Germany. +++

The German whole sale trade business generated turnover in February this year which was 12.5% (in nominal figures) and 7.5% (in real figures) higher than in February 2007. In comparison with January 2008, however, it fell by 0.9% (in nominal terms) and by 1.1% in real terms. This and the following was revealed through preliminary calculations carried out by the Federal Statistical Office. +++

The annual inflation rate registered in the Eurozone (EZ15) in March 2008 is expected by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) to amount to 3.5% following an increase by 3.3% when comparing February this year with February in 2007. Thus, inflation in the Eurozone is growing less rapidly than in Germany, but is still above the German rate. +++

The image of German car manufacturers on the German market in comparison with international competitors is very good: four German car manufacturers (Porsche, Audi, BMW and Mercedes) are on top of the current BrandIndex ranking compiled by the psychonomics market research institute as far as the “quality” category is concerned. VW is also among the top ten in this ranking of more than thirty car brands. The current tail enders with regard to their quality images are Fiat, Daihatsu and Kia. +++