In Cologne, for instance, only the first Sunday in December can be open for shopping, since the blue laws still protect individuals over businessinterests.
There has been speculation about how Rupert Murdoch would seek to protect the bulk of his businessinterests, which are in television and film, from the reputational and financial damage being caused by the hacking and alleged bribing scandal at his UK newspapers.
But David Kester, chief executive of the Design Council - who has also joined the alliance - says that it is in the interests of business to protect customers from crime.
As a direct consequence of the Macondo Incident, we were forced to revise our short-term business priorities and expand our focus to protect the immediate and long-term interests of our Company.