Investments here, investments there, the retail market is frozen and big chains do their arrangements with firing personnel or closing down. Big German chain of stores with consumers electronics Media Markt Saturn announced the closure of three big stores in Athens and Thessaloniki on Monday afternoon. Media Markt issued a statement after Greek media claimed it actually closes down.
Media Markt- Saturn statement read that the company proceeds to strategic moves that will boost its position in the Greek market given the current economic situation. The SATURN shops in Faliron (Athens), Gerakas (Attica) and Stavroupoli (Thessaloniki) will close down and 50% of the personnel will be relocated in work places within the corporation. It stated nothing about the rest 50% of personnel… therefore ‘unemployment’ is coming for some families 🙁
Media Markt will keep its 10 shops in several Greek cities. With 13 shops Media-Saturn was giving work to 1,000 people.
Greek economic news portals report that the METRO, the mother company of Media-Saturn Holding had earlier announced personnel lay offs due to revenue losses of 44 million euro in the period of April-June 2011 (in comparison to similar period of 2010 returns 41 million euro) and the sharp decline in electronic items demands.
You can’t expect to have profits and revenues with a -7% recession, can you?
PS I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Greeks also boycotted the German chain due to the anti-Greek propaganda of the German media and provocative politicians. At least two friends of mine chose local chains due to thisreason, much to my knowledge.
Never,ever saw anything in Saturn that couldn’t be found cheaper. Off-word prices so I suppose the competition ran rings around them. But who are the competition?
Media Markt and Saturn are really the same company.
Media Markt’s main slogan “Ich bin doch nicht blöd” (I am not stupid) In Greece the slogan is change to Δεν είμαι και χτεσινός! (I was not born yesterday)
Metro is from switzerland not germany
They closed also shops in Germany. Because the Germans buy in the Internet. Amazon and others are mostly cheaper. Local traders have been driven by the two giants into bankruptcy.
And the normal Germans have to count each Euro too. So they look, where they can buy … normal Germans are working poors since years. They have only some Euros more than the people living from the welfare. Unbelievable? No! Reality.
And so we destroy our own jobs. Employers pay low wages. The workers are looking for small prizes … Saturn and Media-market are too expensive, so we create our own unemployed. A devil circle.
true, there is poverty in Germany too. But welfare still working whereashere is almost zero.
I have to agree with Cheshire Cat’s view, both Saturn and Media Markt had pricing policies that made no sense, always way more expensive than other stores. They had a Soviet view of market forces, i.e if you don’t like the price then to hell with you.
Here’s what I wrote about Saturn when they opened stores in Thessaloniki.
http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.com/2010/03/saturn-storess-astronomical-prices.html
glad to read KTG-readers had more experiences with MM&SAT than me. I never entred the shops but from their ads it was clear, they’re more expensive.