End of an Era as Greek Business Pioneer Passes On (video)

Bon viveur, Resistance fighter, pioneering merchant — Greece lost one of its household names this week with the passing of businessman Grigoris Sarafis, aged 91.
Sarafis was an iconic figure for Greeks in the 70s and 80s, when his range of menswear stores namechecked places like Paris — a then-exotic destination for pre-EU Greece.
He owned clothes stores for men in three cities: in his hometown of Trikala, north-central Greece, plus Athens and Paris. In the mid-1980s he added another store in Larissa.
“Sarafis in Trikala, Sarafis in Athens, Sarafis in Paris”, was the jingle heard by millions of Greeks on the radio and television and in cinemas and football stadiums across the country for three decades, practically defining a whole era.
When the Sarafis ad first appeared, Greece was not in the European Union and the linking of the French capital — an international fashion powerhouse — with Trikala was like opening a window onto an impossibly glamorous world for many Greeks.
In the 1980s, Sarafis was a regular on television. Behind the name was an excellent merchant who had a keen eye for men’s fashion and knew the secrets of his trade.
Sarafis also had a great love for his hometown, with the Trikala store featuring first in his commercials, before Paris and Athens.
Resistance
The successful entrepreneur was born in Trikala in 1927 and, according to the Trikalavoice website, left home when he turned 16 to join the Greek Resistance by becoming a member of the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS) during the German occupation in WWII.
After the end of the war, he studied, got married and returned to Trikala where he took over his father’s shop.
With his contribution, the store took off and he later opened another in Athens. Sarafis showed great passion for his work, always trying to bring the best in men’s fashion to Greece. At the same time he became one of the pioneers in good store management.
According to the Trikalavoice tribute, Sarafis was also a bon viveur who, aside from fine clothes, loved fast cars, jazz and rebetika music.
Sarafis, Pioneering Greek Businessman, Dies Aged 91 (video)