values

Inflation therefore put the “3” in front in August, with the beggars demonizing the demand of tourists that raise the prices…
Um… did you see the +11% electricity? Even with the subsidies?
Or did you see the price hike in clothes and shoes?
The first I can understand, as wholesale prices “stung”, but the second?
The increase, compared to last year, in clothing and footwear was… 65.2%. Again good that they dropped the prices compared to July by 4.6%!
So clothes and shoes were about 5% off… from +65% within a year!

The burden of… legality

Of course, we also had the “hidden” charges. Which did not appear in the data of ELSTAT.
A… “code” that was added was the air conditioner usage fee!
Daily 10 euros arrived in the summer months in addition to the use of air conditioning in the tourist areas, otherwise… all day in the sea!
But we also had the burdens of legality.
As they told me, the interconnection of the POS with the cash registers led to the whole of the charges being passed on to the consumer.
Nothing was hidden by the focus, as far as possible.
This was also the price of legitimacy.

A cliff in front… and a stream behind

But don’t think we’re done with electricity prices. They will remain bitter.
I remind you that today we are waiting for the government’s measures on the water shortage problem. And predictably, the measures will add to the costs.
Also, I remind you that the responsibility for electricity prices lies with the Waste, Energy and Water Authority (RAAEF). The authority accepts proposals from providers and sets the price.
But if the cost increases due to water scarcity measures… guess what…
With mathematical precision we will have a new increase in current.
Water scarcity not only affects agricultural production but also electricity prices….

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And the selective “water shortage”

Of course, in addition to the waters, which are drying up, we also have “drainage” in the transactions on the Greek stock market.
The previous three weeks prepared us for the selectivity, but what we see since Monday, namely the level of turnover… is not befitting a candidate market for upgrading.
Especially yesterday, in order for the turnover to exceed 1 million euros, it took… 11 minutes of the meeting.
In other words, not even 100 thousand transactions took place every minute! Fortunately, it’s the last half hour, when the Americans wake up, that is, and make a little trading “hustle”.

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Money is there… selectively

Of course, there is money. But selectively.
It was also seen in the bond of Piraeus. They offered her 2.7 billion, for the 650 million she was asking for. The interest rate is 5.5%.
And it is the first time that a Greek bank bond is not priced with a nominal interest rate, as with high yield issuers, but with a spread over the swap rate.
This is because the creditworthiness of the bank and the country has improved.
Let me remind you that last week the administration was in New York and Boston for contacts with institutions. With the help of UBS.
Apparently they went well.

Changes

And since I mentioned Piraeus, I remembered the comment I read in the “Under Surveillance” column in “Sunday Step”.
According to her, the changes in the marketing and communication department are already underway at the bank. And in the same column I read how these were decided by Megalo’s management, which expected more dynamic communication in the recent rebranding of the group.

Return

Anyway, I’m learning that a new executive is taking over as head of the department. So they tell me that this is Yiannis Rokkas chief marketing officer of OPAP, who has held this position since 2019.
What is worth noting is how Rokkas actually returns to Piraeus, as before going to OPAP, he served as Deputy General Manager of Marketing, Customer Experience & Loyalty of the banking group, while he also served as Director of Deposits & Investment Products, Director of Consumer Loans.

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AB Vassilopoulos changes course

AB Vassilopoulos is also launching changes of a different type.
No, it has nothing to do with his staff, this time.
This is a new strategy in the commercial relations of the chain with suppliers.
A good source from the market told me that at AB Vassilopoulos they seek to adapt to changing consumer habits.
And especially the “fatigue” shown by family budgets. What is otherwise called “accuracy”!
So I learn that it is visibly modifying its commercial policy. And informs the directly interested parties about it. That is, its suppliers.
Who are certainly not sailing in a sea of ​​happiness.
But that’s how difficult these things are. As difficult as reality is.

Private label

I am told that the management of the company – apparently on orders from the parent company Ahold – decided to strengthen the position of private label products on its shelves and in its refrigerators.
A first concept was announced about a year ago, but at the time the magnitude of the upcoming changes was probably not made clear.
These are primarily products produced on behalf of the parent group and in any case have high profit margins – perhaps even higher than brand names.

Profits

And given that during the last few years the “bottom line of the balance sheet” of the chain in question has been sufficiently “suffered”, the specific commercial policy is “a certain solution” as the great Alexandrian would say.

Suppliers

And lately, suppliers have been called to whom the respective “buyers” – as the executives of the commercial department of the chain are called – announce to them that they will limit the shelf space occupied by their products in order to increase the space of private label products accordingly.

Η Mckinsey

And the responsibilities for the bewildered looks of the suppliers are attributed to … McKinsey!
This is the American consulting company, from which the parent group of “AB” asked to carry out research on the trends and profitability of various product categories.
Well… and the resulting result was … “private label and dry bread”! The sequel on the shelves….

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High voltage meeting…

However, we have a continuation in the thriller… with the Greece-Cyprus cable.
After a marathon five-hour meeting, in a heated atmosphere, between the stakeholders on the electrical interconnection, in the end no agreement was reached between the two sides. However, according to government sources, the “bridges” were not cut.

Technocratic level

The discussions will continue in the next few days, both on a technocratic and political level, with the Greek Minister of Energy, Theodore Skylakakis, stating after the end of yesterday’s meeting that he is optimistic that a solution can be found.
Besides, the manufacturer of the Nexans cable, as reported by well-informed sources, has given a new extension to the “ultimatum” it had set until the 19th of the month. In any case, the uncertainty is prolonged.

The Cypriots

According to what has been leaked from the Cypriot side, the meeting raised the issue of guarantees that the cost of the construction will not exceed the budgeted funds of 1.9 billion euros and commitments from the Greek and European sides for its completion as well as securing economic benefit of the citizens of Cyprus, by reducing the cost of electricity.

The interruption…

The meeting started at 3.30 pm. yesterday at noon under the president of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulidis, who left around 7 p.m. due to assumed obligations. Finally the negotiations continued and the meeting ended at 8.30 pm. It was attended by ministers of the Cypriot government, the General and Assistant Attorney General of Cyprus, Skylakakis, the president of ADMIE Manos Manousakis and representatives of the Commission and Nexans.
Let’s see. Will this cord ever be plugged in?