Kafounis (ESEE): Alarm over the results of retail trade

“Unfortunately, the concerns of the business community are being confirmed, as a large part of the retail sector is experiencing a prolonged period of negative real revenue-expense balance, with the poor start of 2025 picking up where the ‘stagnant’ 2024 left off,” commented the president of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE), Stavros Kafounis, referring to the analysis by the ESEE Institute of retail store turnover in the first quarter of 2025.

Kafounis said that since the beginning of the year, the Confederation has highlighted the need for the State to take bold measures to support trade and has submitted detailed memoranda with proposals.

“We are asking for regulations now that will ease unnecessary burdens, deal with injustices and facilitate the financing of SMEs. Otherwise, the situation in the market will be irreversible,” he underlined.