For retail businesses, the common currency is causing a lot of headaches. This sector is not against the Euro as a matter of principle, but the timetable creates problems. The present plan is not to withdraw the marks, guilders, francs and the other eight currencies overnight in 2002, but to allow them to run parallel to the Euro for three to six months. This gives the consumer the right to choose between Euros and their own national currency when buying goods in supermarkets and boutiques. For the retailer, this means that some big investments will be required because cash registers and scales are not yet calibrated to the Euro.
Some retailers are concerned that the double-currency phase is starting too soon.
Since 1 January 2002 is the start of the winter closing sales, retailers would prefer a beginning date of 1 February 2002, when new articles will appear on shelves and in shop windows anyway. It is not yet clear whether prices in the transition phase of 2002 must be quoted in both currencies. For example, if Euros and German marks run parallel for several months, businesses can hardly avoid following suit. This presents further commercial problems, because conversion creates off-balance amounts. One of these is to distribute simple pocket calculators to shop customers, so they can check out new prices.