Fall sales fail to deliver in most respects

By Dimitra Manifava

Tradesmen considered this fall’s midseason sales – on November 1-10 – a failure in terms of turnover, discount rates and employment, as only one in five retail enterprises saw its sales grow this year compared with 2013, according to a survey by the National Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE).

The survey also showed that only 1 percent of the enterprises which opened on Sunday, November 2, decided to hire additional staff. Almost three in every four shopkeepers (73 percent) who chose to open on that day said turnover did not change overall as it was a mere transfer from other weekdays.

In total 40.2 percent of enterprises reported no change in sales volume levels from the same period last year, with 37.2 percent recording a drop in sales. Outside Athens, the decline came to 44.2 percent of stores.

Interestingly, 28 percent of stores did not even bother to participate in the sales.