Easter Sales Performance and the Source of €4–5 Million in Losses

Easter is traditionally considered the second-best season for retail in Greece in terms of sales, following on the heels of Christmas. However, that wasn’t the case this year during Holy Week. As supermarket sector sources told OT, “the market moved at a moderate pace this year.”

Other industry sources add that the market’s performance barely matched the growth rate of the last four months—around 5.2%, of which 3.5% came from increased sales volume and 1.7% from price hikes. As is the case every year, lamb and goat meat dominated Easter spending.

Winners at the Easter Table

“The only real winners were the livestock farmers who actually had lambs or kids to sell this year,” sources noted. Supermarket chains and butchers generally lost out. While market demand during the Easter period is around 750,000 animals, this year’s domestic supply was only about 450,000.

This year, Easter for both the Catholic and Orthodox calendars coincided, which meant that Italy and southern France were also looking to buy livestock from across the Balkans. As a result, limited supply and high demand drove producer prices up to €9–10 per kilo.

Supermarkets Lost €4–5 Million on Lamb Sales

Supermarket chains lost a combined €4–5 million this year from the sale of lamb and goat meat—just as they did last year. The Ministry of Development had applied intense pressure on the major chains to keep prices down. As a result, supermarkets opened with a retail price of €11.50–11.80 per kilo, knowingly selling at a loss.

These prices put heavy pressure on butchers. Then, on Good Friday, supermarket chain AB Vassilopoulos dropped its price even further to €9.995 per kilo—reportedly out of fear they’d be left with unsold stock. Sklavenitis quickly followed suit, slashing prices to €10.60 per kilo.

Supermarket Strategies and the “Loss Leaders”

That signaled the start of a market-wide price war. Other chains such as Metro, Masoutis, Galaxias, and smaller players followed suit. While supermarkets hoped that deeply discounted lamb would act as a “loss leader” to draw in customers who would then buy other products, things didn’t go as planned.

That’s because retirees hadn’t received their pensions early, public sector workers don’t receive holiday bonuses, and private sector employees only get half a month’s salary as an Easter bonus. So, spending remained subdued and all sides were left frustrated.

It’s worth recalling that last year, Easter coincided with May Day. That meant retirees had already been paid, private sector workers had 1.5 months’ worth of pay, and public servants had also received their wages. Compared to that, this year’s Easter period was overwhelmingly weak.

Source: Tovima.com