In Covid-19 Lockdowns, Businesses Hunt for Loopholes
Tina Müller thought she had found a way out of the lockdown. Before German authorities shut down all nonessential shops this month, the chief executive of the perfume chain Douglas saw that some rivals with similar offerings would be able to stay open because they were classified as drugstores rather than perfumeries. So, on the lockdown’s first day earlier this month, Ms. Müller pronounced Douglas a drugstore and threw open its doors in shopping malls and high streets across Germany. The political and media condemnation was swift and scathing. Douglas shut its stores the next day and iss...
Source: wsj.com