Athens retail firms diminished in 2016
Retail commerce was the weakest link in Athens’s business activity last year, as it was the only sector in which company departures outnumbered new entries on the Athens Professional Chamber (EEA) register. This figure is always crucial as it concerns the biggest domain of business activity in terms of company numbers and employment.
EEA data for last year showed the number of retail enterprises that entered the register last year (not including vehicle trading) came to 1,135, while those written off amounted to 1,202, resulting in a deficit of 67.
Retail closures serve once again to confirm the decline in consumption seen in the market during last year, with early data for 2017 showing that the deterioration is faster in the first months of this year.
The second domain in terms of corporate shutdowns last year in Athens was food service, although they were outnumbered by new entrants: The EEA struck off 498 food service enterprises but saw the entry of 606 new companies.
In total the EEA register deleted 5,479 companies in 2016 and added 6,804, for a surplus of 1,325. However, deleted firms do not include those at the resolution stage, as the EEA itself notes.
