By Chris Stern

BERLIN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - German retailers reported an upturn in sales at the start of the four-week Christmas shopping season this weekend, HDE retailers association spokesman Hubertus Pellengahr said on Sunday.
Pellengahr, who said German consumers are not burdened by debt as much as in the United States, said retailers are optimistic consumer confidence will stay high through Christmas even though overall 2009 sales will fall 2 percent from 2008.
"The Christmas business is gradually picking up," Pellengahr told Reuters on Sunday. "The first Christmas shopping weekend was relatively calm but the turnover picked up quite a bit from the earlier part of November.
"There's a growing sense of confidence in retailing that we'll have a decent Christmas season this year. For that to happen, though, turnover is going to have to pick up in the weeks ahead."
Some leading retailers in Germany include Metro, the world's fourth largest retailer, Douglas, which operates perfume, book and jewelry chains, as well as insolvent Arcandor with its Karstadt department stores.
Pellegahr said Germans were sticking this year to the "classic Christmas presents" such as jewellery, watches, books and perfume. Demand for electronic equipment was also strong.
"We're expecting a 2 percent decline from the 2008 level for the full year but that is still a good result considering the economic crisis and the double-digit decline in revenue that other branches have been confronted with," he said.
"There is in general a lower level of consumption in Germany than in the United States," he said. "Here, people don't buy as often on credit. Instead, we've got a high savings rate. So there is plenty of money around at Christmas this year.
"In America, the situation is completely different," he added. "A lot of people have a lot of debt. Also, the financial and economic crisis hit the United States a lot harder. The mood isn't as positive as it is here.

"The crisis hasn't hit consumers here at all," he had. "That's because unemployment hasn't risen as much thanks to the government's short-work hours scheme and the way employers have reacted to the crisis. That's why we've got a relatively good consumer sentiment."

(Writing by Erik Kirschbaum) Keywords: GERMANY RETAIL (Reuters messaging: erik.kirschbaum.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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