The Christian Science Monitor

Who’s ‘essential?’ From Germany to the US, you might be surprised.

When Germany announced the country would be closing for business to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Standert Bicycles was one of the lucky retailers. Berlin considers bike shops an “essential business.”

But they were surprised to discover just how essential they are.

“Raw sales numbers increased,” says head of marketing Benedict Herzberg, despite closing their physical store and going online-only for a high-end product that people typically want to see in person many times before purchasing. People flocked to Standert’s website and phone lines to

Escape on the fairways“Providing happiness to people”

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