Retailers want sales earlier

Retail offers and sales for 2019 started before the change of the new year at several outlets across Greece, even though winter sales do not officially kick off until Monday, January 14, and run through Thursday, February 28.

In an effort to cater to increased demand, numerous retailers resorted to discounts on their merchandise by up to 70 percent during the festive season. The phenomenon has brought back to the table an ongoing - and so far fruitless - discussion concerning demands for changes to the winter sales period so that it begins right after Christmas, as in other European countries.

In the United Kingdom and in Portugal, for instance, the winter sales began on December 26.

A Greek law dating to 2013 provides for the winter sales to start on the second Monday of January and to end on February 28 or 29. In recent years, however, shrinking disposable...