In a special survey (in German) conducted by the DIHK, over 3,000 German businesses abroad indicate an increasingly negative outlook regarding their business activities. More than eight of ten companies expect or are experiencing a diminished turnover rate.
In a global context, businesses in Australia have responded rather more positively than some of their counterparts. Over 34% of participating companies expect no change, or even an increased turnover this year.
Last week, we spoke with Tea Ditterich from 2M Language Services about the effects of COVID-19. Tea, who speaks six languages, runs a successful translation and simultaneous interpreting business from Brisbane. With conferences and other live events being cancelled because of the virus, 2M has had to adapt overnight – a change Tea’s business was ready for. In our latest podcast episode, the German-Finnish powerhouse talks about pivoting and the importance of being at the forefront of technology.
As we are starting to see a slow and considered re-opening of gastronomy and hotel businesses, we spoke with Louise and Reimer Moeller from our member company German Beverages Australia. The couple shared some insights on how they are weathering the storm, how they served their community in the last few months and some scenarios on how the future for the industry might look like. They also shed some light on dos and don’ts for beverage companies contemplating a move into the Australian market.
COVID-19 has impacted just about every industry in sometimes very different ways. But some industries were already in trouble before the virus broke out, such as the Australian retail sector – and those problems have compounded further. We spoke to Brad Welsman, Managing Director of our Executive Member SSI SCHAEFER, about some of those impacts felt in the logistics industry and for some of SSI SCHAEFER’s retail customers.
Our new podcast series, Sound Bites, delivers insights from the German-Australian business community. And what better way to start this series than to introduce our new Executive Director, Christoph von Spesshardt. Christoph joined us on the 1st of May, and while he can’t meet our members (and staff) in person just yet, he took the time to share a bit about himself with us.
The global economy and thus the business of German companies abroad are in a substantial crisis. Two thirds of the more than 4,000 companies surveyed by the AHKs worldwide expect the economy to deteriorate in the respective countries.
