– Closing early, turning off the lights and lowering the temperatures are some of the measures that retailers and shopping centers in Europe are taking to try to reduce energy use and contain a crisis stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The bloc is struggling to contain natural gas prices after Russia cut supplies.
Below is a summary of these efforts:
TURNING ON & DEVICES:
Some supermarkets, including Belgian grocer Colruyt, France’s Carrefour, Leclerc and Auchan and three branches of Commercianti Indipendenti Associati, part of Italy’s Conad chain, have dimmed their lights.
The operator of the shopping center Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and the Italian Coop Alleanza 3.0 reduced lighting by 30% during opening hours.
Casino de France began turning off lights after hours at its Franprix, Casino and Cdiscount brand stores from October, a measure that supermarkets and Coop Suiza brands are also implementing on a voluntary basis.
luxury companies including LVMHErmenegildo Zegna and Italian fashion house Valentino began turning off lights in stores earlier in the evening, while French luxury brand Kering turned off lights in unoccupied areas.
Leclerc, French consumer electronics retailer FNAC Darty, Coop Alleanza 3.0 and the owner of the Klepierre shopping center will turn off outdoor illuminated signs after lockdown, while the Austrian branch of the multinational retail chain SPAR Group and the French telecommunications group Iliad reduced the hours of outdoor lighting.
The French group also reduced the switch-on time for advertising screens and stores. Similarly, sportswear manufacturer Adidas has reduced the operating time of HE DIRECTED displays, while the fashionable group OTB since the spring it has turned off the lighting in the storefronts at night and has installed sensors to turn the lights on and off in the staff rooms.
Spanish discount supermarket chain DAY it will automate systems that were previously manual in some 1,000 stores in Spain, 30% of its stores in the country, adjusting lighting hours according to sunlight.
In Germany, the privately owned MediaMarktSaturn Group has restricted the operation of televisions on sales floors. Stores can also turn off escalators and reduce lighting levels.
Many companies, including British retailer Marks & Spencer and German group Schwarz, which owns discount supermarket Lidl and supermarket chain Kaufland, have also converted lights to more efficient LEDs.
HEATING:
Many retailers in the food and fashion industries have reduced the heating in their locations by 1-2 degrees Celsius (33.8°F-35.6°F).
French consumer electronics retailer FNAC Darty expects to save an estimated 1.4 gigawatts (GWh) this winter by reducing temperatures by two degrees in its stores and offices.
Klepierre, which owns more than 100 shopping malls across Europe, said it will turn on heating and air-conditioning systems one hour after opening and turn them off one hour before closing.
Peer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said it also closed air curtains (artificially created moving air currents) while OTBowner of brands such as Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf, limited its use to store entrances to reduce heat dispersion.
OPENINGHOURS:
Although Aldi Nord planned to shorten opening hours at numerous branches from November, Leclerc may consider doing so in an emergency and MediaMarktSaturn Group said its stores across Germany can implement the measure on a voluntary basis.
CHRISTMASDECORATIONS:
Swedish fashion retailer KappAhl said Christmas decorations in its stores would be scaled back this year, favoring graphics and accessories you can use again, rather than lights or power-hungry devices.
Coop Suiza stores can limit Christmas lighting indoors on a voluntary basis, the group said, while the three branches of Commercianti Indipendenti Associati said they would cancel the festive lights.
REFRIGERATORS/OVENS:
Some retailers, such as Auchan, Marks & Spencer, and the Schwarz group, were seeking to reduce the energy consumption of their refrigerators by adjusting temperatures or putting doors on some coolers to prevent cold loss.
Auchan also said it would halve the use of ovens for its bakeries and in-store catering in an emergency.
