The coronavirus epidemic is likely to continue affect the retail landscape beyond 2020, a survey of leading Greek retailers and FMCG executives has found.
The survey of 180 industry leaders, carried out by IELKA, the Greek Research Institute for Retail and Consumer Goods, found that a majority (68%) expect the total sales for this year to be unchanged from the previous year, with a surge in sales in the first half echoed by a decline in the second half.
Respondents said that they believed sales in the first half will rise by 2.1% on average, while in the second half, their estimation is for a drop in sales of 2% on average.
Economic Growth
Elsewhere, the positive momentum seen in the Greek economy in recent years appears to have been eroded in the eyes of respondents.
In a separate survey January 2020, some 74% of leading retailers and FMCG executives believed that the Greek economy had improved, with just 1% saying that it had worsened.
Fast forward three months, and just 27% now say that the economy has improved, with 65% saying that it has worsened.
When asked what their priorities were during the current crisis, some 76% of respondents said that the health and safety of their staff was paramount, followed by product availability (58%).
In terms of the duration of the crisis, 74% believe that the state of emergency will last more than two months, while 96% of respondents believe that the market and the economy will be affected until the end of 2020 or longer.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
