Luxury department store in Paris La Samaritaine shines in new splendor

Status: 23.06.2021 2:09 p.m.

It is one of the most famous shopping addresses in the world: La Samaritaine in Paris. The legendary department store was lavishly renovated for 16 years. Today it opened its doors again.

From Stefanie Markert, ARD studio Paris

“O lala!” – Emmanuel Macron is visibly impressed by the sight: Gustave Eiffel’s gray-blue iron staircase spanning five floors with 16,000 gold leaves has been originally restored. Many of the 1700 employees of the department store stand on the landing and applaud the president. He accepted Bernard Arnault’s invitation. The billionaire and boss of the luxury goods company LVMH owns the Samaritaine. He renovated the building complex for 750 million euros and is now attracting customers: “Perhaps you can also shop on the Internet. But there you can’t touch the products, you can’t see them, and you can’t have lunch in such a wonderful atmosphere.”

A water pump as namesake

In the Samaritaine, this is most spectacularly done in the “Voyage” restaurant under the historic glass dome, surrounded by a 115-meter-long peacock frieze in Art Nouveau style. But actually shopping is hip here, emphasizes Head of Marketing Nathalie Montaldier: “You are on the fourth floor – all women’s shoes, from sneakers to luxury. The special thing: when you try them on you have a fantastic view of the Gothic cathedral Saint-Germain-L’Auxerrois . A unique experience.” In 1870 Ernest Cognacq founded the Samaritaine. Before that he had sold fabrics on the bridge next door – the famous Pont Neuf -, then rented a corner café and expanded his business little by little. At that time the first Parisian water pump stood on the Pont Neuf, and it was called “la Samaritaine” – the Samaritan woman. The pump gave the store its name. Today, historical commercials flicker there on old TVs:

Monsieur wants something?

Yes, nails.

We dont have.

An alligator clip.

Neither clamp nor crocodile.

Haven’t you read the name of our store?

No.

This is not the Samaritaine.

Ah, I see – you can find everything in the Samaritaine.

In the Parisian luxury department store you will find one thing above all: French “savoir vivre”. Image: Stefanie Markert / ARD-Studio Paris

A hymn to Paris

The house no longer lives up to this claim, says manager Eleonore de Boysson, but: “You can find all of Paris in the Samaritaine. Its brands and artists. It’s like a promenade with surprises. A visit should trigger a new Parisian feeling.” And convey the French way of life. The house bakes its own croissants, personalizes champagne bottles and sells cosmetics from collapsible crates that resemble those of the bouquinists in front of the door. Mosaics are reminiscent of the Parisian passages and yellow lanterns of the street lighting in the past. Parisian flair en passant.

The luxury department store is a hymn to the city. It offers the largest beauty department in the European Union – 600 brands and products from three-euro hand gel to perfume in a giant crystal bottle for 150,000 euros. Up to five million customers are expected each year. Parisians, French and of course tourists. On the lower floor, the head of marketing points to a long rolling carpet like at the airport: “There was direct access from the parking lot to the department store. We have redesigned this tunnel. This is where the bus tourists will arrive.”

The complex includes a luxury hotel with a 1000 square meter suite. Even the smallest room there costs 1500 euros per night. But there is also a day nursery and almost 100 social housing. Samaritaine General Director Jean Jacques Guiony explains: “That is the law. When building, around 25 percent of the area has to be reserved for social housing. We were free to move it inside in the Rue de Rivoli building.” The tenants look out over a green, roofed courtyard with the department store’s wellness oasis. The Samaritaine is open 364 days a year. It is only closed on May 1st

retail trade Constant dispute about the closing time

Status: 21.06.2021 5:43 p.m.

25 years ago, the Bundestag approved longer shop opening times. But to what extent do more flexible rules benefit retail – and what price do employees pay? The debate continues.

From Jens Eberl, WDR

When Berliners want to go shopping in Bavaria, they might find themselves in front of closed doors every now and then. Berliners are used to having shops open around the clock. And Bavaria, on the other hand, has the shortest opening times in Germany. Since 2006, responsibility for regulating shop closing times lies with the federal states. The federal store closing law only applies in the federal states that have not passed their own store opening law; and that is the case in Bavaria. According to the Federal Store Opening Act, sales are allowed Monday to Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Bakeries are allowed to open from 5.30 a.m. In Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony, the shops are allowed to open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., in the other federal states, 0 a.m. to midnight.

“The job can hardly be planned any more”

Have the more flexible opening times proven effective? The balance sheets are very different. Stefan Genth, chief executive of the retail trade association (HDE), says that liberalization was an important and right step. “Especially in the food retail sector, customers like to use the longer opening times to shop later in the evening after the working day and to take a look around.” The service union ver.di, on the other hand, speaks of a massive deterioration in working conditions. “Due to the long opening times, the employees are required to be much more flexible, the job can hardly be planned,” says Federal Board Member Stefanie Benefitberger. Compared to the past, there are many more part-time workers; the longer opening times have not led to the creation of full-time jobs. “There are simply fewer staff available for advice in the store, so that the opening times can be covered,” says Benefitberger. “Two thirds of those employed in retail are women. The expansion of part-time work and employment that is not subject to social security contributions are at their expense and mean that they are dependent on basic security in old age.”

Jobs for millions of people

The industry association contradicts: Liberalization has increased the need for labor in the retail sector. “Particularly in the food trade, additional jobs were created in order to be able to cover the evening and night hours,” said HDE General Manager Genth. Overall, the retail trade in Germany today offers more than three million people a job.

The union also sees a connection between the dying inner cities and the long opening times. There was a big cutthroat competition, so ver.di board member Benefitberger. “Four corporations make around 80 percent of sales in foodstuffs, three corporations make almost 90 percent of sales in drugstore articles.” Not every company was able to go along, especially smaller shops should have closed that way.

Sunday opening as an economic aid?

In the current discussion about shop opening times, the main focus is currently on Sunday. The trade association, the association of towns and municipalities and Marcel Fratzscher, head of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), have signed up for a general Sunday opening until Christmas – as an economic aid for the industry, which has been hard hit by Corona.

“In many other areas of the economy, opening on Sundays is a matter of course. In restaurants and pubs it is part of everyday life that the doors are also wide open on Sundays. The same is true of theaters, cinemas or museums worked on Sundays, “said industry representative Genth. “Only in the retail sector, as a rule, everything has to be closed on Sundays. That is no longer in keeping with the times.”

Resistance in court too

But the trade union ver.di is massively resisting further liberalization, which is why it repeatedly goes to court. The advance of the HDE is a “general attack” on the trade workers, their families, and the Basic Law. “The HDE thinks too short-sightedly when it hopes to liven up the city centers and shops with shopping Sundays,” said union Benefitberger. “Because just because it is open longer, people cannot spend more money. Sunday sales only move sales from working days to Sunday.”

At the moment, shops generally have to close on Sundays and public holidays. There are exceptions, for example, for bakeries, flower shops, newsagents, petrol stations and shops in train stations and airports

Tchibo increases prices Drinking coffee is getting more expensive

Status: 14.06.2021 10:42 a.m.

The rising prices for green coffee are now also being felt by consumers: for the first time in four years, market leader Tchibo is asking more for its filter coffee. Other dealers could follow suit. In the past weeks and months, some foods have become more expensive, especially vegetables and fruits. Now German consumers also have to dig deeper into their pockets for their favorite drink. From this week onwards, coffee will be more expensive. Tchibo is increasing prices by between 50 and 100 cents per pound – depending on the variety and country of origin. The 500 gram “Feine Milde” pack will cost 5.69 euros in future – instead of the previous 4.99 euros.

A poor harvest is threatened in Brazil

Tchibo justifies the first price increase since 2017 with the rise in green coffee prices. The poor harvest forecast of the world’s largest coffee producer, Brazil, has recently pushed up purchase prices. Tchibo’s move should have a signal effect for the entire industry. Because the market leader usually gives the direction. The group can set the prices in its branches itself. Other roasters and dealers could follow Tchibo’s example.

05/28/2021

Discounters are still waiting

According to Armin Valet from the Hamburg consumer center, the supermarkets will soon follow suit. The consumer advocate predicts that coffee capsules are also likely to become more expensive soon. So far, the discounters Aldi and Lidl have been keeping a low profile. You have not yet commented on price changes. Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord have their own coffee roasters and can determine the prices of their own brands themselves.

Tchibo competitors are likely to follow suit soon

The big coffee roasters are still waiting. Melitta and Dallmayr do not want to comment on possible price adjustments. A spokeswoman for Dallmayr only confirms that the company has been massively affected by the very significant current cost increase. The Jacobs Douwe Egberts Group has announced that it has increased its factory prices due to increased purchasing costs. The Dutch group, which is controlled by the Reimann family, owns well-known brands such as Jacobs, Café HAG and Senseo. Its trading partners are, in particular, grocers who set the end consumer prices on their own responsibility.

analysis 06/09/2021

Green coffee has become almost twelve percent more expensive

The so-called ICO price index, which is made up of several types of coffee, rose by 1.4 percent in April, the sixth month in a row. According to calculations by the Federal Statistical Office, the import prices for green coffee in April were almost twelve percent above the level a year ago. The high-quality Arabica variety in particular has risen significantly in price. The prices have now climbed to their highest level in four years. In New York, Arabica coffee cost around 164 cents a pound at the beginning of June.

02.12.2019

Coffee capsule boom

Coffee is the most popular drink among Germans. The per capita consumption is 168 liters. It is true that significantly less coffee was drunk in cafes, bakeries and canteens during the corona pandemic. At home, however, German citizens consumed eleven percent more. The market for coffee capsules in particular has experienced an unexpected boom in recent years. Competition could soon intensify. With its coffee brand Costa, Coca-Cola wants to attack the market leader Nespresso. The Brause group relies on a partnership with Krüger: The German family company produces the aluminum capsules for Coca-Cola. The capsules are compatible with the Nespresso system.

Consumption and happiness I shop therefore I am

Status: 13.06.2021 10:26 a.m.

Business is up again. For many people, the lockdown was like withdrawal, because shopping can trigger feelings of happiness like drugs. But is less maybe more – and does it even make it happier? By Ilyas Mec and Sandra Scheuring, MR According to the Federal Statistical Office, an average household in Europe has around 10,000 things. 100 years ago, the average German household had 180 things. It is estimated that almost three million people in this country live in a household with three cars or more. There are two million old cell phones in drawers. This list could go on: TVs, clothing, decorative items, household items are constantly increasing and far exceed the number of things that we really need. Obviously, ruffling is an instinct that was created in human evolution. Owning things reliably ensured survival. Buying triggers a feeling of elation, at least in the short term. It can even turn into a real addiction, shopping addiction. Those who consume are also looking for confirmation, wanting to belong – it’s about keeping up, but also about demarcation and the expression of individuality. Buyers are often at the mercy of their instincts. Two thirds of all purchase decisions are made spontaneously in the store, as so-called impulse purchases.

06/11/2021

The tea light phenomenon

Marketing strategists and advertising professionals use these behaviors to encourage people to buy. A walk through an Ikea branch shows how perfected the craft of seduction can be. It seems impossible not to buy anything. A pillow here, a carafe there, and finally tealights. We use them spontaneously, even if we have had such products at home for a long time. Why? “It can be a purely functional need on the one hand, but also an emotional one on the other hand: I want it to be more comfortable, I just want it to be nicer,” says Janet Wittmaack, deputy branch manager of Ikea in Frankfurt. The psychologist Jens Förster points out the disadvantage: the kick when shopping is always gone very quickly. “If you really want to spend money, adventure goods are a good choice, things like traveling,” says Förster. The memory remains, “and that makes you happier in the long term”.

05/18/2021

Consumer trend minimalism

An entire industry is now propagating the opposite. Because owning a lot is no longer so en vogue today. Owning little, but having the right thing for it, is a megatrend. The Japanese bestselling author Marie Kondo, for example, who is also known as the “Queen of Minimalism”, sells items for a minimalist life in her online shop. Otherwise she writes guidebooks on how to make tidying up and sorting out happy. Birgit Blättel-Mink is a professor of sociology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt and conducts research on consumer issues, among other things. Instead of abstaining from consumption, there is often just a shift in consumption, she believes: “If someone says I do without clothes, I don’t really need that much – then we often observe something like a so-called rebound effect. So I save here. I can for that I can afford more on another side. ” In such cases, it may not be a matter of profound change or more sustainability, but rather a “subjectively good conscience”. Then there are only three very expensive shirts instead of ten cheaper ones. You have to be able to afford minimalism as celebrated on Instagram and Co.

05/10/2021

Consumption is the work of others

Consumption is a prerequisite for our economy to run. If everyone renounces consumption, it would be a disaster, says Adalbert Winkler, economist at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. He is researching the consequences of the corona lockdown. “Those who offered goods and services had no income, and if the state hadn’t helped with transfer payments, then this drop in income would have meant that these people would not have been able to consume either, which in turn would have affected everyone else,” says Winkler . “We would have gotten into a dramatic recession.” In a nutshell, this means that if everyone lives ascetically, there is a risk of economic ruin. It is relatively easy to promote abstinence if your own income is not burdened. So what now? Living in a very spartan way and doing without consumption does not seem to be a solution either. Just as minimalist, elitist buying behavior is not an option for society at large. For most people, thinking about how you consume cannot be wrong. This includes the insight that the happiness rush when shopping is only short-term. And many things can quickly become a burden – when the basement is full and you have to ask yourself: where do you put all that stuff?

On average, consumers spent at least 1250 euros less on consumer spending last year. This is the result of calculations by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft (IW). In total, this corresponds to a decrease of 116 billion euros, according to a study by the employer-related research institute. The percentage decline in spending was 6.1 percent compared to 2019, the biggest slump in 70 years. “Short-lived consumer goods” such as clothing or shoes were particularly hard hit by the decline, according to the study. The purchase of durable consumer goods such as cars or furniture also declined in the course of the first lockdown, but demand in the second half of 2020 increased by five percent compared to the previous year. The temporary VAT cut could also have had a stimulating effect on consumption.

Service providers hit particularly hard

The service sector was hit particularly hard by the lockdown measures in 2020. In 2020 as a whole, the decline totaled 78 billion euros, according to the IW. That is more than two percent of the German gross domestic product. “The state-decreed closure of body-related services, restaurants, hotels, leisure and event facilities have made many consumer wishes impossible,” said IW scientist Hubertus Bardt. The data confirm a study by the Federal Statistical Office in March. This had also indicated that the development in the Corona crisis differs significantly from that in the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009. At that time, private consumption was less affected and even proved to be a pillar of the German economy.

It will continue to save

The researchers do not yet see a fundamental recovery in the propensity to consume in German private households. For the first quarter of 2021 they put the consumption shortfall at a further 40 to over 60 billion euros. According to a survey carried out by the IW together with other research groups, 43 percent want to save the part of their income that remains after basic expenses. Usually it is less than 30 percent. In addition, only a third of those surveyed stated that they currently plan to spend on vacation – usually 45 to 50 percent.

From David Zajonz, WDR Business cheers from companies are rather rare these days. The Cologne-based Rewe Group was able to announce it today. The retail company recorded a 20 percent increase in sales in the Corona year 2020 compared to the previous year. Part of this goes back to the takeover of the wholesaler Lekkerland, but Rewe posted double-digit growth in the supermarket business alone in Germany.

A lot of sales apart from groceries

Industry-wide, the German trade association speaks of an eight percent increase in sales in the grocery trade, while clothing stores, for example, have to accept dramatic losses. The supermarkets benefit from the fact that other retailers have to close their shops temporarily, says Gerrit Heinemann, retail expert at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences: “In food retailing, depending on the retailer, ten to 50 percent of sales are made with products that are not groceries.”

“A little unfair”

In the large Rewe centers, for example, customers can buy many everyday products, from frying pans to shoes. While kitchen outfitters or shoe stores went into lockdown, the Rewe stores were allowed to remain open during the pandemic. That is actually “a bit unfair,” says Rewe CEO Lionel Souque: “If I were a textile chain, I wouldn’t understand either.” Rewe itself only benefited slightly from this, because many smaller branches do not offer such a wide range of products. Nevertheless, the effect is noticeable. Souque confirms that the large Rewe centers have developed better than the classic supermarkets during the pandemic.

“Home office effect” for online deliveries

In addition, the food trade has also benefited from the closure of the catering trade, says trade expert Gerrit Heinemann: “People have increasingly bought food and drinks in the supermarket.” In addition, there is the “home office effect”. Those who work at home have to buy more in the supermarket: “Just toilet paper”. Another big trend is the booming grocery delivery business. Consumers are still far more likely to have books sent home than potatoes. But the Corona year led to a “dam break”, says retail expert Heinemann, and the proportion of groceries bought online has grown significantly: “However, it has come from a very low level – to just over one percent of the entire market.” The food deliveries are – at least for Rewe – a losing business: “We continue to lose money, but you don’t have to see that negatively,” says CEO Souque: “We see it as an investment in the future.”

Competition grows

The hope for further growth in online trading is causing more and more players to pour into the market. “Instant delivery services” like Gorilla and Flink in some large cities promise food deliveries within ten minutes of ordering. However, retail expert Heinemann believes that it is almost impossible for delivery services in Germany to work profitably: “The margins in the food retail sector are very low.” Consumers are used to low prices because of the many discounters. This means that the high delivery costs for the dealers are hardly manageable. In fact, it is difficult “when customers order three cases of cola on offer on the fourth floor,” admits Rewe boss Souque. On the other hand, the corona pandemic brought many new customers to food suppliers. So the cake is growing, and players both old and new want their share of it. Industry expert Heinemann says that he does not believe that the online share in the food sector will rise over ten percent of total sales in the next few years: “But even then, food would be one of the largest online product groups.” Supermarket chains and start-ups will probably continue to fight for online customers despite all the difficulties.

From Hermann Scholz, BR Quentin Orain used to be a well-paid engineer in the automotive industry in Munich. He gave up this job – for an empty room of around 300 square meters. A hands-on supermarket is to be built here in mid-July, organized as a cooperative. They bought some of the furnishings from a closed Karstadt, among the participants are craftsmen who help with the furnishings or designers who have already designed the shop windows. The receptionist comes to the front of the door. Customers are checked there – because anyone who is allowed to shop here has to be a member of the cooperative. The new market should make it easier to consume sustainably. “I was missing a place where there is everything, from the region, organic, and also with little packaging, with a full range, everything you need in everyday life,” says the Frenchman Orain. The Munich market was modeled on similar markets in New York and Paris. The “Park Slope Food Coop” has been operating in New York for almost 50 years and has 17,000 members. Orain worked for the Parisian cooperative “La Louve” for a while to understand what it takes to be successful. The most important thing, he concluded, is the close ties between the project participants and the market.

Cheaper than traditional shopping?

The model works like this: Each member of the cooperative acquires shares of at least 180 euros – there are discounts for low-wage earners. To this end, he works three hours a month. There are also permanent employees. The market should offer the entire range of a conventional supermarket. The highlight: there is a continuous surcharge of 30 percent on the purchase price. This is how the sales price is calculated. They cannot keep up with special offers from comparable organic markets. But on average you get around 15 to 20 percent cheaper when shopping, estimates Orain – and sometimes even cheaper for vegetables. The idea for the hands-on supermarket arose from the popular initiative “Save the bees”. The initiators came to the conviction that one should not only impose rules on the farmers – one must also offer them an opportunity to market their goods. That is why the cooperative is already building a network of suppliers around Munich. The participants themselves decide on the standards for the food they buy. It doesn’t always have to be organic – for example, good keeping conditions for the animals whose meat they offer are also important.

The products come from the region

Every second Friday Kristin Mansmann from the cooperative drives to the organic estate Wallenburg in Miesbach south of Munich and packs boxes of fresh vegetables into her small car. Then it goes to the organic cheese dairy Obermooser in Irschenberg. Until now, the dairy has only sold its products in the immediate vicinity; With the cooperative, she succeeds in making the leap to the large Munich market. Mansmann picks up orders at the two courtyards – the cooperative is already functioning as a purchasing community, as a test run for the supermarket, so to speak. She delivers the orders in a garage next to the Munich wholesale market hall. Members are already setting up a distribution station there. Each member can come at a specified time and receive their order. Everything seems a bit improvised, but you know each other, the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.

Other cities are also planning hands-on supermarkets

The members of the cooperative have two motivations: the price – and the feeling of doing good. “The nice thing is that we know where things come from, you have a completely different connection to them,” says project participant Britta Bertsch. Manuel Schäffer only came by to have a look – but he already sees the advantages: “The work is manageable, and I have to pay in the supermarket too, and if in doubt, more than here.” The idea of ​​the hands-on supermarket seems to be slowly but surely gaining a foothold in Germany. There are already several purchasing cooperatives for fruit and vegetables, including in Munich. And when it comes to full-range supermarkets, Munich’s are the first, but also in Berlin (“Supercoop”) and Cologne (“Köllektiv “ ) want to start similar projects soon. The Munich cooperative needs around 800 members to function. She already has almost half.

By Klaus-Rainer Jackisch, MR Chocolate Easter bunnies landed in the Easter basket less often than usual this year. Business was rather sluggish due to the coronavirus pandemic. The industry had already reduced the number of units in advance so as not to sit on the shelves, as in the previous year, or to sell them off at dumping prices. But overall, “the Easter business was very mixed,” says Solveig Schneider, spokeswoman for the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry in Bonn, drawing a preliminary balance.

Easter is more important than Christmas

German manufacturers produced a good 215 million chocolate bunnies this season, wrapped in colorful tinfoil and always with a smile on their face, a good half of them for export. That was far more than the 150 million or so Santa Clauses that rolled off the tapes for the winter. Because for a number of years now, the Easter business has been more important to the industry than the Christmas season. Although people eat more in Corona times and Germans have an average of at least one kilogram more on their ribs, the complicated chocolate business is currently not going well in many areas.

Falling sales

While the grocery trade had few problems getting chocolate Easter items to the public and there were sometimes even bottlenecks – triggered by the hacking around the planned and then canceled Easter rest, which prompted some to buy hamsters – it saw sales on the important sales areas looks very different in department stores. “Our companies sit on the ordered goods and cannot get rid of them,” complained the confectionery association president Bastian Fassin even before the Easter business. The chocolate slack is also reflected in the books of the manufacturers. The traditional Swiss group Lindt & Sprüngli, which has been used to success and has been growing for years and has an important mainstay in Germany, was able to beat its way through the crisis last year. But the fact that many Lindt stores were forced to close due to the pandemic left clear marks on the balance sheet. Even at Ritter Sport, whose square chocolate can be found in almost every country in the world during normal times, sales fell for the second time in a row due to the pandemic. The specialist dealers were hit much worse – such as the Deutsche Confiserie Holding, behind which the 300 or so stores of Hussel, Arko and Eilles are hidden. Due to the downturn in consumers, the company with around 1,600 employees had to file for bankruptcy at the beginning of the year.

Consumers reluctant to experiment

The failure of the International Confectionery Fair in Cologne this year was also very bitter for the industry – so far unique in the 50-year history of the world’s largest trade fair of its kind. Because the chocolate industry thrives on innovation. German manufacturers in particular are extremely inventive and that is why they play such an important role on the world market. “But you also have to touch and try new products from time to time – that doesn’t work digitally,” says Schneider. Market researchers have found that in times of pandemics, customers concentrate on traditional products when they scurry through the discounter in the evening in the stress of corona to quickly buy the bare essentials. Standing in front of the shelf for a long time and trying something out is rather flat. Especially since retailers currently prefer toilet paper and pasta to new chocolate creations on display anyway. The industry is also severely affected by the closure of hotels and restaurants – the demand for cocoa and chocolate treats has plummeted. And then there are the chocolate bars and mini-snacks that you can take with you at the station kiosk or just before departure. Here, too, sales have declined significantly due to the downturn in travel. The Heinemann brothers, market leaders in Germany’s duty-free shops, and are represented at almost every airport in this country, feel this too. One has already experienced many crises, said CEO Max Heinemann in the “Handelsblatt”. But “the dimensions of this pandemic are so far incomparable.” The chocolate sales of the Hamburg trading house in Germany collapsed by almost 80 percent last year.

Chips and nuts are more in demand

The question is where the pounds come from that the German citizens carry around with them. Probably not about chocolate, says the Confectionery Association – but about chips, flips, pretzel sticks and other nibble pastries. This sells particularly well in times of crisis, as do nuts and trail mix, which are popular in the home office. All of these divisions recorded significant increases in sales. So the joys and sorrows in the confectionery industry are closely related. And what happens to the chocolate Easter bunnies that are left behind? Contrary to popular belief, they will not be melted down again to mutate into Santa Claus. The industry attaches great importance to this. Instead, they would be donated to aid organizations.