According to an announcement by SOS Children's Villages, these are gifts and candles that will delight young and old and decorations that will highlight every corner of the house, garden and terrace and will give an Easter touch of joy to all areas. The entire Easter collection is also available in the SOS Children's Villages e-shop, where those interested can choose from a variety of Easter gifts, candles, and electronic Easter cards to wish their loved ones. With every purchase, small or large, from the Easter bazaar or from the Organization's e-shop, the announcement points out, we send our own message of love, supporting the important work of SOS Children's Villages.

These leading international fashion trade shows, featuring women's and men's clothing, accessories, shoes, jewelry, and lifestyle products, are organized twice a year in London by Hyve, attracting buyers, designers, and businesses with global brands. The Greek participation left positive impressions, and the representatives of the companies had the opportunity to establish important contacts and explore potential business agreements. The Greek brands that participated in the exhibitions, listed alphabetically, were as follows: ACCESS ABEE, ANNA VLACHAKI (ANIW), ARTISUN, BORSIS VASILIS V&R, CHRISTINA BRAMPTI, ESTHETE, GEORGIA CHARAL ART JEWELRY, HARIS COTTON SA, IMISI COLLECTION, JOANNA PLAKIDOU HEADPIECES, MUFF, NEIROMAI, OLIA SCARVES, SIBYLLA DELPHICA, VOID MODE, and VOGIATZI EIRINI KAI SIA EE. Paraskevi Kambouroglou, the Second General Counsel of the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs in London, toured all the stands and engaged in discussions with the Greek exhibitors about the specificities, requirements, and opportunities for important collaborations offered by the UK market.

The service is already available in the UK and France through Zara’s stores, website and mobile app, and will now launch in Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Portugal, Reuters said. Other fast fashion brands, such as Zara’s main competitor H&M (HMb.ST), also offer products for resale.

To the effects of the energy crisis of the last years which brought the price explosion in a series of foods, the consequences of the climate crisis have now been added, as reflected in the categories related to agricultural products, which are now leading the race for price appreciation. Indicative are the data of ELSTAT, according to which in December 2023, prices in the "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" category increased within a year by 8.9%. The champion of price increases is olive oil, with its price jumping by 58.5% within a year, while double-digit increases are also recorded in fruits and vegetables - by 15% and 14% respectively - as well as in mineral water-soft drinks-juices fruit by 12.6%. Fish by 8.4%, meat by 6.5% and sweets - ice cream by 7.7% also recorded significant price increases. Market executives in their estimates regarding the course of food prices in 2024 noted that consumers are expected to see on the shelves fewer and lower-intensity price increases compared to the previous year, but not a de-escalation of prices to pre-energy crisis levels. The increases observed in the price lists of the suppliers that reach the organized retail trade are less and have been, as they note, constantly decreasing in recent months, while the picture in food inflation appears - at least compared to the first months of the previous year - improved. At the same time, however, climate change now plays a particularly important role in the formation of prices at an international level, while especially in the categories of agricultural products, the factors that influence their course are volatile and often unpredictable. A typical example is olive oil. the price of which began to rise after the droughts that affected the countries that are the major producers of the product and continues to this day in an upward trend. At the same time, however, the issue of the so-called "inflation of greed" is entering the discussion more and more recently, regarding whether, that is, in several cases, the constant appreciations are always justified. The new anti-punctuation measures announced by the government this week also focus on preventing unjustified price increases, leaving open the possibility of new interventions if necessary.

According to retail sector representatives, after a relatively satisfactory Christmas period, the winter sales are expected to give a new impetus to the market. Turnover in the first two months of 2024 is expected to exceed the approximately 6 billion euros of the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile, the Greek Ministry of Development underlined that inspections in the markets will be strict and constant.

Commercial shops throughout Greece will remain closed today. In the meantime, immediately after the holidays, i.e. from January 8th, the winter sales for 2024 start and will last until the end of February. It is recalled that based on the bill of the Ministry of Development, the winter sales begin on the second Monday of every January and end at the end of February, while the stores are expected to reopen on the first Sunday of the winter sales, i.e. on January 14th, 2024. Moreover, street markets will operate normally today, while the implementation of the use of POS machines, for the acceptance of credit and debit cards, also begins It is recalled that, from today and henceforth, all vendors active in street markets, fairs and Sunday bazaars, and taxis are required to accept both card payments (debit and credit) and direct payment services by transferring money between bank accounts , such as the I.R.I.S. online payments. With regard to the sanctions in cases of non-compliance, the relevant ministerial decision stipulates that for the period from 01.02.2024 to 01.03.2024 the imposition of fines on new debtors is exceptionally suspended, as long as it is proven that card acceptance terminals have been procured up to and 31.01.2024 and are pending its installation.

Shops will be open from 09:00 until 21:00 on week days and from 09:00 until 18:00 on Saturdays. Shops will also open on Sunday, December 31 from 11:00 until 18:00.  Shops will be closed on January 1 and 2, 2024

The shops will be open every day with continuous hours, from 9 am to 9 pm and on Saturdays from 9 am to 6 pm. Moreover, on Sundays 17, 24 and 31 December, shops will be open from 11 am to 6 pm. It is noted that on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 December as well as on Monday 1 January and Tuesday 2 January the shops will be closed.

Hours will be  from 11:00 am to 20:00, announced the Athens trade association SELPE on Wednesday.

The store is one of only 10 such stores in Europe, serving as a vote of confidence by Apple to the iStorm prospects in Greece. The store opening marks the continuing interest of Quest Group, owners of iStorm, in investing in the Greek and Cypriot markets. iStorm is the only Apple Premium Partner – APP retail store chain dedicated to Apple products in Greece and Cyprus.

At the same time, the Ministry of Development is intensifying controls on the market in order to prevent the phenomena of misleading discounts, with the priority being the protection of consumers from unfair commercial practices. In this context, the Interdepartmental Market Control Unit (DIMEA) imposed fines totaling 1.44 million Euros on 3 large electrical and electronic sales chains (Plaisio Computers, Public and Praktiker) as it was found in its checks to be in violation of Article 15 of Law 4177/2013, as applicable, and in application of YA 35935/2023 "Code of ethics on the announcement of a reduced price during a discount period".     "Misleading practices at the expense of consumers are not tolerated," the Minister of Development, Kostas Skrekas, said in a statement and announced that "controls will be intensified in the next period". The minister emphasized, among other things, that "the imposition of fines proves to citizens and society that the market is not uncontrolled, that the market is controlled. That our own government is in favor of the free market but not the unregulated market". He said that the purpose "is not to punish or harm the chains. Our aim is to uphold the law and protect the consumer. And I want to tell you that this worked, because as soon as the fines were imposed, the virtual discounts also disappeared." Mr. Skrekas noted: "We will not allow anarchy in the market, we will be merciless with lawbreakers." Problematic in the commercial world     Focusing on the new code of ethics regarding the announcement of a reduced price during the sales period, Makis Savvidis, vice-president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and vice-president of GRECA, speaking to APE-MPE pointed out: "the government is doing the right thing and imposing fines on businesses for fictitious discounts". He emphasized that "the main concern of the trade is to ensure that there are no unfair practices by some who take the work from those who operate legally and properly. The controls of the ministry are in the right direction and aim to ensure the proper functioning of the market. Those businesses that make irregularities should be stopped because the only thing they achieve is to operate at the expense of the healthy businesses that make up the vast majority."     Regarding the fines of 1.44 million euros by DIMEA on the three major retail companies for misleading discounts, the president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vassilis Korkidis said: "as long as they are confirmed, they were well imposed, regardless of whether they are due to an omission or a mistake, since companies of such size and reputation must set a good example in the application of the law and of course in consumer protection. However, I must mention that delinquency in the Greek market in recent years does not exceed 5%, showing professional maturity, but also the necessary respect for the customer, who is also the strictest punisher".     It is recalled that according to the code of conduct on the announcement of a reduced price during the sales period which entered into force last April and incorporates a relevant Community directive, it is provided that in each price reduction announcement the previous price applied by the trader for a specified period of time before application of the price reduction. Previous price means the lowest price applied by the merchant during the 30-day period before the price reduction was applied. When the product has been on the market for less than 30 days, the previous price is the lowest price applied by the merchant during the time the product has been on the market. Where the price is progressively reduced during the 30 days prior to the application of the price reduction, the previous price shall mean the price in force prior to the application of the first of the successive price reductions. High temperatures and low turnovers     Speaking to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, Makis Savvidis, vice-president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and vice-president of GRECA, pointed out that "the very high temperatures that prevailed during the first weeks of the summer sales and also on Sunday, July 16, when the shops were open, acted as a deterrent. Reduced traffic, combined with inflationary pressures and the limited disposable income of consumers have led commercial enterprises to a loss of turnover estimated to reach 30%.     "The malls, superstores and department stores, were probably the most profitable of the first days of sales, due to the large air-conditioned common areas, which seem to have attracted more consumers for their purchases," said the president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vassilis Korkidis. According to him, the first two weeks of sales, which are traditionally the best in purchasing traffic, were "burnt" by the high temperatures of July, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.     "Retail trade is once again called upon to overcome the obstacles of persistent inflation, but also the problems of this year's heat wave. What is certain is that the summer sales still have a long way to go until the end of August, while the retail trade will be called on in September to make the final cash register of the results of this summer's turnover and sales volume," underlined Mr. Korkidis.     The goal of the retail trade this summer is for the total turnover of the two months of July-August to move above last year's threshold of 6.6 billion euros and to exceed 7 billion euros this year. According to Mr. Korkidis, in the retail trade, current sales have strengthened since the beginning of the year, recording an annual increase of 12.7%. Specifically, from the latest data of ELSTAT, it appears that the Region of Attica shows, after the Region of the South Aegean with 15%, the largest increase in turnover with 13.3%. At the same time, the amount of stocks is deescalating, while the evolution of sales in the last period shows that they fluctuate monthly steadily at 3.55 billion euros. It is noted that of the 3.55 billion euros, 1.24 billion euros correspond to the small and medium-sized retail trade, while if we exclude food and fuel, then the monthly turnover does not exceed 1 billion Euros. The increase in turnover in the two months of July-August is also based on the increased tourist flows, during the summer sale period, where foreign visitors enter the sum of the turnover with "imported consumption". This explains compared to other markets of Attica, according to Mr. Korkidis, the increased traffic in the center of Athens, as well as the areas with greater tourist flows, at least before the big destructive fires broke out.  

Specifically, the association reminds the consumers that the stores, according to the law, can optionally open on Sunday 16th July from 11.00 to 18.00.