Department store

Greek consumers proved active during the festive period, the sector's most important, with a preference for sports as well as more festive items, market insiders note.

The prolonged heatwave has led to a big drop in shopping in Athens, even in the middle of a sales period.

As part of the government's effort to expedite the return to normalcy for businesses in Greece, the competent state health authorities have approved the opening of restaurants, bars and cafes on May 25.

Meanwhile on Monday - and two weeks earlier than originally estimated - shopping malls, department stores and discount outlets will reopen.

Greece has entered the second phase in lifting its lockdown, with all remaining retail stores that had been shut down in March allowed to reopen and the final grade of high school resuming classes.

Shoppers reach out for television sets at a department store in Athens on Friday. The Black Friday sales appeared to beat retailers' expectations as hundreds of customers lined the streets outside the city's most popular department stores long before sunrise.

Retail commerce in Greece experienced a loss in turnover of 130 million euros over this Easter period compared to last year, according to estimates from the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE).

Retail stores and chains that opted to offer special discounts on November 25, Black Friday, have reported up to 500 percent increases in turnover compared to a regular Friday at the end of November.

When you think of tourist attractions your mind normally goes to ancient ruins, famous plazas etc. But these shopping malls are so famous they have become tourist attractions in their own right. These renowned 9 shopping malls are worth visiting on their own merit.

1. The Kaufhaus des Westens

Russia?s lurch into recession has hit many tourism and luxury goods companies hard, forcing them to cut prices and in turn costs in an attempt to limit the damage.

And there are few signs things will get better soon, with a fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine doing little to ease international tensions over Moscow?s support for pro-Russian separatists in the region.

France's lower house of parliament approved a law on Feb. 14 letting shops open more often on Sundays, the latest measure in the government's pro-growth bill intended to lift the sluggish economy.

The bill will let shops open up to 12 Sundays a year from five currently, provided mayors allow it, workers agree to work voluntarily and are paid double their usual salary.