Fireworks ‘more popular than ever’ despite higher prices

Trotz gedämpfter Konjunktur rechnet Deutschlands größte Feuerwerksfirma Weco damit, dass die Menschen in diesem Jahr mehr Geld für Raketen, Böller und andere Pyrotechnik ausgeben. «Die Menge, die im Einzelhandel bereitliegt, ist schätzungsweise ein Fünftel größer als im Vorjahr», sagt der Vertriebsleiter von Weco, Oliver Gerstmeier, in Eitorf (NRW) und bezieht sich dabei auf eigene Volumina und Branchenzahlen. In den vergangenen zwei Jahren sei Feuerwerk im Handel nahezu ausverkauft gewesen, daher habe man das Angebot nun deutlich aufgestockt. «Feuerwerk ist so beliebt wie noch nie.»

Der Verband der pyrotechnischen Industrie (VPI) schätzt das Angebotsplus auf etwa 15 Prozent. Der Umsatz mit Silvesterfeuerwerk lag den Angaben zufolge Ende 2023 bei rund 180 Millionen Euro. Weco hat nach eigener Darstellung einen Feuerwerk-Marktanteil von circa zwei Dritteln in Deutschland. Den Großteil seiner Produkte importiert Weco aus China sowie im kleinen Umfang aus Staaten wie Tschechien, wo Wunderkerzen hergestellt werden, und aus der Schweiz, woher «Vulkane» kommen. 

Eitorf (dpa) - Despite the subdued economy, Germany's largest fireworks company Weco expects people to spend more money on rockets, firecrackers and other pyrotechnics this year. ‘The quantity available in the retail trade is estimated to be a fifth larger than last year,’ says Weco's sales manager Oliver Gerstmeier in Eitorf (NRW), referring to the company's own volumes and industry figures. In the past two years, fireworks were almost sold out in the retail trade, which is why the range has now been significantly increased. ‘Fireworks are more popular than ever before.’ The amount that can be sold on the last three sales days of the year. What is not sold then goes back to the fireworks companies.

Recently there have been hardly any returns

It is still unclear whether the additional pyrotechnics will actually sell well in supermarkets, discounters and other points of sale. In the years before corona, the return rate was a fifth - so that's how much the fireworks companies had to take back. However, after the coronavirus years, when fireworks were banned on New Year's Eve 2020 and 2021, the returns rate was almost zero, says Gerstmeier. ‘In many shops, the goods were already sold out on the first day of sale.’
However, the Weco sales manager cautions that it is difficult to forecast sales this year, as the general economic downturn and concerns about jobs are dampening the mood of many consumers. According to Gerstmeier, the prices for fireworks have risen because the freight rates for imports from China have become expensive.
From an economic point of view, however, he has no concerns for his company's business, because looking at the past decades, the rule of thumb is: ‘The tighter the coffers are, the more fireworks are bought - many people find this very important to end the old year well and start the new year well.’

Criticism of fireworks

Environmentalists are critical of fireworks because they release fine dust and produce waste. According to Weco, it has largely switched from plastic to paper and cardboard in order to minimise plastic waste. Animal rights activists, on the other hand, warn of the consequences of the crackling and firework lights for birds and wild animals, which can be startled and injured or have their hibernation disturbed.