Summer sales kick off, run till late August
Summer sales started on Monday across Greece and will end on August 31.
Under the current law, stores can open voluntarily this Sunday, July 14, the first Sunday of the sales period, on a schedule of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Analysts expect this summer’s sales target is to exceed last year’s benchmark of 7 billion euros in turnover for both July and August, while the rates of discounts at the start of the sales season will range from 30-50%, to possibly reach as much as 70% by the end of the two-month period.
The retail sectors with the greatest share in summer sales turnover include those of clothing and shoes, beauty products and pharmaceuticals, watches and jewelry, furniture and home appliances, and electric and electronic equipment.
Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos paid a visit to the high street in the Athens district of Agios Dimitrios on Monday. He spoke with shopkeepers and staff in the neighborhood, stressing that the government’s goal was to support healthy business enterprises and merchants but also to protect consumers by intensifying market inspections.
“Today is the first day of the summer sales and I want to stress that informed consumers have power. They can compare prices and buy products from where they find the best price. This is the only way for competition to work and how we get prices to fall,” he emphasized.
He expressed his best wishes that this year’s sales period will go well for both merchants and citizens, adding that “misleading discounts are obviously not acceptable.”
