Victoria Beckham has taken German stores by storm, but many World Cup fans here have done little to justify shopping hours that were pushed into overtime.
Supermarkets, boutiques, bookshops, music stores and more have been staying open until 10pm, at least two hours later than usual, to cash in on the biggest sporting event in the world.
But two weeks into the World Cup, tired staff say so few people take advantage of the extension that they might as well have been in front of the television following matches like everybody else.
"It is not worth the trouble, and while I'm here I cannot even watch the football," a young man in an empty cobblery in Gesundbrunnen, just north of Berlin, remarked around 9pm.
"It has not brought us 1 euro more in profit, just a lot of extra costs," he added, declining to give his name for fear of angering the management of the countrywide shoe repair chain.
At the nearby Yves Rocher cosmetics store, the empty floor and the boss' frown said it all.
Christina Krause, the manager of the local outlet of the Thalia chain of bookstores, said she has already done her calculations and concluded that "this is costing far more money than it is bringing in."
German businesses had to seek special permission from the country's 16 states to open longer during the World Cup, and most of the regional governments agreed.
RSS