Coca Cola’s rubles, coal… on the shelves and “golden” real estate – Economic Post – 2024-04-13 13:44:24

· The “conflict” between Skrekas and Panteliadis over VAT was highlighted yesterday at a conference on organized food retailing.

· The chairman of the major supermarkets insisted that the tax cut will lead to a de-escalation of prices.

· Something that was not accepted by the Minister of Development, who brought the example of Spain, the specific move turned out to be… bulletproof.

· The stubborn rejection of the reduction of VAT, as explained by experienced people of the market, is linked exclusively to the loss of tax revenues.

· As they explain, state coffers will lose valuable revenue that flows in on a steady basis.

· The government is not going to risk such a move, they say, especially in today’s challenging macroeconomic environment.

… and the real problem with prices

· Consumers are of course still pressured by accuracy.

· Which, despite successive interventions (e.g. housewife’s basket, permanent price reduction) does not say to stop.

· Visiting the supermarkets, as much as the sympathetic class of retailers tries to convince us that prices are falling, remains a big headache for the majority of households.

· “Once with 40 euros you could fill two bags, now you can barely fill one…”, says a leading executive in the field.

· We are informed that in contrast to the first two months, March moved below expectations in terms of volume, while April also did not start well for consumption.

· Everyone is now waiting for the new Skrekas intervention to deal with inflation.

· Although, as market people say in the column, the problem is not so much the high prices, as the salaries that remain low in relation to the real needs…

· They even paraphrase the now famous phrase “it’s the economy, stupid”, saying that in this case: “It’s the wages, stupid”.

————-

Coca Cola “stocks up” by staying in Russia

· Coca Cola HBC continues to do good business in Russia even after its withdrawal.

· The Swiss-based multinational giant saw the profits of the Russian subsidiary it kept in operation after the war soar to unprecedented heights.

· According to international press reports, Multon Partners, as Coca Cola HBC’s company was renamed in the Russian market, quadrupled its profits in 2023 to 111 million euros.

· The tip of the spear was “Dobry Cola”, which took the place of Coca-Cola, which was withdrawn from the shelves about two years ago.

· This one, according to the company, has nothing to do with the original Coca Cola.

· The recipe as well as the ingredients used for its preparation are completely different from the original.

· Dobry Cola managed to surpass both local cola brands, ‘Chernogolovka’ and ‘Cool Cola’.

· According to bne IntelliNews, only about 9% of foreign companies that had a presence in Russia before the invasion of Ukraine have so far left the country.

· Most multinationals, which have invested hundreds of millions of dollars, are said to be reluctant to completely withdraw from Europe’s biggest market.

————–

The two hot branches of real estate

· Modern office spaces and high end residences are the two hottest sectors of domestic real estate.

· Agents of the real estate market report that significant mobility has been observed recently, mainly by foreigners looking for returns.

· Offices that are already leased in particular attract the most interest, as do apartments in high-profile areas…

· The Southern Suburbs in Attica still hold the reins…

· On the other hand, of course, there is a low supply since the Greek market is quite shallow and with specific limits.

· This, as they say, is perhaps the biggest problem of the sector in Greece.

————

The promise of Rhodes that was…forgotten (?)

· I did not hear the prime minister say anything in Rhodes about the promise he had given to those affected by the fires.

· And he had invited them to come back this spring or fall and host them for free.

· Maybe because in the end the interest was not important from the hotels.

· Just 38 hotels according to the provisional table, expressed interest to accommodate interested parties with a total of 583 rooms in the spring and 285 in the autumn period.

· How many hotels does Rhodes have? Over 500…

· You see the compensation is only 300 euros for six nights for hotels up to three stars and 400 euros for hotels of four and five stars.

· Crumbs!