During the corona pandemic, firecracker and rocket shooting was not possible on New Year’s Eve 2020 and New Year’s Eve 2021. For the most part, there were curfews and a ban on firecrackers. This year everything will be different. For the first time, many fireworks items are already sold out on the first day of sale. FOCUS online knows the details.
Rush for the fireworks articles from Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Lidl, Netto Marken-Discount or Norma. For the first time since New Year’s Eve 2019, German retailers are allowed to sell firecrackers and rockets again – and this is causing a real buying spree.
The sale of fireworks started this Thursday. It ends on Saturday. But it is unclear whether there will still be enough goods in stock.
“We expect good sales at the level of 2019. This is shown by the online pre-orders,” said a spokesman for the trade association North confidently on Thursday morning. The first discounter branches in Germany are now reporting: “We are sold out.”
FOCUS online went in search of clues, checked where rockets and firecrackers were still available on Thursday evening. The result was rather sobering. The rummage tables and bins were plundered in many places, the shelves of the fireworks sale as if swept empty.
“It was last so violent with the toilet paper two years ago,” reports an Aldi employee from Munich, who contacted FOCUS online on Thursday evening. “The batteries were gone after a few hours. We only have a few rockets left.”
The situation in Hamburg is similar. An employee of Netto Marken-Discount reported in the evening: “We had people who bought fireworks for 400 euros. It’s really hard.” An Aldi Nord employee from Hamburg, who also reached FOCUS online, said: “Sold out on day 1, it’s never been like this before.”
And a Lidl employee from near Heidenheim also reports: “I haven’t experienced anything like this in 20 years. Things were torn off the pallet when we were refilling. Just fierce.”
For the first time, many Dutch people traveled to Lower Saxony to go shopping when the New Year’s fireworks went on sale. In the municipality of Bunde (district of Leer), which lies on the German-Dutch border, queues formed in front of shops on Thursday. At a Lidl branch, people were crowded together. Shoppers rolled carts full of rockets and firecrackers out of the store.
Firecrackers free!
For the first time after a two-year Corona break, consumers can ignite rockets again. However, most of the range is already sold out.
Customers in industrial and commercial areas have better chances. There are usually several supermarkets and discounters located there and the chances are better.
It is more difficult with Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Lidl, Kaufland and Co. in rural regions. Here the first “Fireworks sold out” signs are already on the entrance doors.
The following retailers started the fireworks sale on December 29th:
Consumers could still find a few products in the branches here. If you urgently want to buy fireworks, you have to bring a lot of patience with you from Friday.
DIY stores like Hornbach and Bauhaus no longer sell fireworks and justify this by saying that it was done at the suggestion of animal and environmental protection associations.
According to information from FOCUS online, this is also due to the poor sales performance. Firecrackers and rockets weren’t really a sales driver in hardware stores. In addition, the profit margins were lower because DIY stores were able to buy fewer goods than discounters and supermarkets. In addition, customers are more likely to buy fireworks from places where they can also take sparkling wine, raclette cheese and chips with them.
“Even before Corona, DIY stores were not particularly strong in selling fireworks,” confirms Richard Eickel, head of the Bremerhaven fireworks dealer Comet, to the “Weser Kurier”.
“I enjoy engaging in discussions about the environment. But you shouldn’t ban something that has a long tradition and makes people happy,” said the Comet boss.
The fireworks products offered from December 29th to 31st must be approved by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) or a comparable European authority.
It is important to ensure that there is a CE mark with a four-digit number (e.g. 0589 for BAM) on the packaging. Especially New Year’s Eve firecrackers from Eastern Europe represent a high risk potential and should neither be bought nor ignited. More information on testing fireworks can be found here
BAM recommends not buying fireworks abroad. Buyers must be at least 18 years old. Fire brigades and police warn against buying illegal fireworks because of the high risk of injury.
“Illegal firecrackers can cause serious injury. These often contain not only black powder, but are filled with a much more reactive flash composition or contain a significantly larger net explosive mass,” warns BAM,
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