Figures show that one in four commercial businesses in Greece has closed down since the start of the crisis, while it is doubtful that many of those that are still operating today will be open after this coming January.
The recession has dealt an enormous blow to all sectors, though it has hit commerce and manufacturing hardest, where the majority of businesses are small or medium-size, as daily Kathimerini reports. Large commercial firms have not been immune to the knock-on effects of the crisis, with a number of major clothing importers and retailers declaring bankruptcy, and wealthy shopping districts in the capital, such as Kolonaki, Kifissia and Glyfada, also feeling the heat, with a succession of store closures.
According to the latest data released by the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce (ESEE), the percentage of the total number of businesses listed that has closed has risen from 15% in the summer of 2010 to 25% in August 2011. In fact, on a number of central commercial streets in the Greek capital, the percentage of closed shops exceeds 30%. The streets that have been hit the hardest are Solonos (42%) in central Athens, Tsakalof in Kolonaki, Plastira in Maroussi (35%), Kolokotroni (33%) in Kifissia and central Stadiou (32%).
More and more shops are shutting in Thessaloniki, where the percentage has risen from 10.1% in August 2010 to almost double that at 19.1% a year later. Things do not look bright for the future either, as an index compiled by the ESEE suggests that if the rate of closures continues at the current pace, in February 2012 there will be 228,000 commercial business in operation, compared to 255,000 today and 324,000 at the beginning of 2009.
This means that 122,000 businesses will be wiped off the country’s map, with everything that this entails in terms of entrepreneurship and unemployment.
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