of Giorgos Lampiris
The retail trade of clothing and footwear is showing increased strength and in several cases the samples of the period we are going through are positive, as noted by executives of the sector, who were contacted by the “Kefalaio” newspaper.
As Giorgos Karanikas, president of the Hellenic Federation of Trade and Entrepreneurship, states, “it is a fact that at the moment there is a good pace of the market. Since the restrictions of the pandemic have stopped and tourism is moving at the rates we are watching, especially in the tourist destinations, there is a general rise”.
He also refers to the fact that there are expectations from discounts, however he does not stop pointing out that inelastic energy and fuel costs limit disposable consumer income. “In any case, retail trade shows a positive sign, especially in the tourist areas”.
As far as discounts are concerned, Mr. Karanikas observes that even the smaller businesses have started more intensive discounts with larger percentages on the products they have of the order of 30%-50%. This fact is in contrast to previous years, where discounts started with lower percentages at the beginning of the period.
“The goal of retail businesses is to be able to bring even a small portion of what may be left over from inelastic spending as consumer disposable income into their coffers. This is an interesting bet with discounts.
The reality is that there are opportunities in the market. For their part, consumers should do their research before shopping, while there is certainly a need for businesses to make available the inventory they have.”
Smart Park: Increase in store turnover by 7% in stores
At the same time, the Smart Park shopping center managed by the company Reds, a subsidiary of the Ellactor group, is moving positively in terms of revenue compared to both 2021 and 2019, as stated by the managing director of Reds, Giorgos Konstantinidis. .
“The overall picture presented by Smart Park at the six-month level is positive. The exception is the course of May in terms of store turnover, when a decrease of 6% was recorded.
In terms of the course of the six months, the shopping park moved upwards in store turnover by 11% compared to 2021, while historically it had the best April of any other year. On top of that, and compared to the first half of 2019, Smart Park is moving upwards by 7%”.
It should be noted that recently new Cosmote-Germanos stores have joined the park as well as the KFC catering chain, which is managed in Greece by the Food Plus company of Tanes and Ioannou.
At the moment, the lease of two more spaces to businesses within the Smart Park is imminent, which will mark 100% occupancy of the shopping center’s available spaces.
Funky Budha: Running with 21.6% like-for-like sales growth
The managing director of Funky Budha, Kostas Alexiou, talks about a year that shows positive examples for his company. “Initially in the four months until April 30, we moved very positively with a rate of +8% above the target we had set.
The intervening May, since it followed Easter, did not go well. The first ten days of May did not show any buying interest, while overall the month closed with a rate of -18% in relation to our target. That shrunk the fat we had built up, so at five months we were marginally positive on our budget.”
This year and up to July 13 and compared to the corresponding time period of 2021, Funky Budha’s sales are moving at a rate of +30% if the new stores are also calculated, while on a comparable basis – without counting the new stores that opened – the sales growth is at +21.6%.
The company has launched 10 new stores within 2022 and is about to open two more points by the end of the year. One of the stores will be located in Thessaloniki and the second in the River West shopping center.
Mr. Alexiou, however, expresses his concern for the next months of the year, as, as he says, a reduction in consumption due to limited spending power is visible during the coming autumn and winter.
“Additionally, what we didn’t anticipate is the Euro-Dollar rate. So, in the merchandise we’re now receiving for the winter 2022-2023 season, we’re forced to buy at a 1-to-1 Euro-Dollar rate, whereas we had priced the dollar rate at 1.10.
This means we will have increased freight costs for next season and at the moment we don’t know what impact this will have on our profitability, which we will have to see how we deal with.”
Prices up 9.1% in June compared to May 2022 – Year-on-year price growth at 4.6%
Looking at the framework of price formation in the market, ELSTAT’s recent inflation data for June indicated that the increase in the price index in the category of clothing and footwear was at the level of 9.1% compared to May 2022, given of the return of prices to the pre-summer discount levels.
Comparing on an annual basis June 2022 with June 2021 the price changes in the clothing and footwear category were at the levels of 4.6%.
*Republished from “Kefalaio” newspaper
Source: Capital
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