Over the last six years, Oslo has had the lowest sales performance compared with Norway's three major regions. In 2002 the capital had store revenue of a total of 35 billion kroner and in 2008 the number had risen to 45 billion kroner, which corresponds to an increase of 28,7 percent. The neighboring county Akershus noted an increase over the same period of 37,6 percent.
Managing Director of Oslo Commercial Association, Gunnar Larssen, thinks it is sad that the city will lose its position as the region's commercial center.
– Oslo will become a much poorer city in terms of restaurants, galleries and other cultural activities. Trade is important for all industries, Larssen says.
– To prevent this a single and simple action is to ensure that people have easy access to the city by car and that they are able to park it without getting ruined because of the parking fees. Today, you can end up spending about 200 to 300 kroner on parking in the city center, while at the shopping centers outside the city you pay 20 kroner for the entire day.
We need to have acceptable prices, and they certainly are not acceptable today, Larssen says.