Supermarkets expect sales to increase in H1

Supermarket company officials expect sales to rise in the first half of the year, albeit marginally, after statistics showed a considerable decline in November.

Hellenic Statistical Authority data released on Wednesday revealed that sales volume in retail commerce fell 2.9 percent year-on-year in November. However, a survey by the Research Institute of Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA) showed that the majority of respondents expect a rebound for the first time in two years.

Of the corporate officials polled, 34 percent said they expect a year-on-year rise in sales this half, with 3 percent even forecasting a rise of more than 5 percent from H1 2017. The average increase anticipated amounts to 0.2 percent. One in four (25 percent) expect a decline, compared to 60 percent last year, while another 41 percent see no change.

The vast majority of respondents expressed...