The German Retailers Association (HDE) is predicting more gloomy months for the retail industry in Germany. The HDE expects turnover to drop by 1.5 percent, not least due to the government coalition's recently introduced higher taxes. Previous estimates had predicted a drop in turnover of 0.5 percent. "We still don't know when the downturn will end," chief executive Holger Wenzel told the German news agency dpa.