Thessaloniki: Lamps… tins of oil and pitogiro – How accurate were the tsourekia

Lamps, tins of olive oil, brick sushi in a bowl, round pie and Barbie. Chocolate sheep with handmade marshmallows, caramel-filled eggs in a hen’s nest, mini colorful quail eggs and chocolate egg cases filled with Easter eggs, simple buns but also with plenty of chocolate in elaborate designs, compose an impressive Easter scene in the shop windows of Thessaloniki.

Tin lamp with …olive oil in a limited quantity

“Already, h increase in demand for lamps reached 15% compared to last year”, points out Alexis Gerakis, owner of a candle shop and adds: “Easter is late this year and this helped to extend the length of shopping. Number one in the selections is the sushi brick in a bowl, sushi on a plate and the giant sushi, followed by the children’s Stitch, the round pie and Barbie remain in the first preferences and the candle of the year is the olive oil tin, which, however, did not make it to go into mass production due to …accuracy’.

“80% of the handmade candles cost from 10-15 euros, there are the colorful simple candles that start from 80 minutes and of course the elaborate carved candles, which cost up to 25 euros. This year, for the first time, there was also a large increase in the sale of candles to tourists, with the theme of ancient Greece, frappe, pitogira and souvlaki. Of course, the logos of major fashion houses and the lights of football teams, such as Real and Barcelona, ​​are always up-to-date, as well as players, such as Ronaldo, Messi and this year, Haaland”, emphasizes Mr. Gerakis.

They “sold out” of the special chocolate eggs

“The movement of consumers has started, everyone wants to buy something special, but also economical”, explains the owner of the pastry shop Giorgos Avgeros to the Athenian/Macedonian News Agency and emphasizes that “egg prices start at three euros for small ones and reach up to 25 the largest in size, which need more work. Already, many of our designs, such as the Little Prince planet in an Easter egg, have sold out.”

This year, says Mr. Avgeros, consumers have a strong preference for chocolate sheep with handmade marshmallows, caramel stuffed eggs in a hen’s nest, mini colorful quail eggs, chocolate eggshells, pistachio praline filled rolls and chocolate Lilac flavored fudge. However, as he emphasizes, there were no shortage of difficulties as “last week we experienced an unprecedented situation, the temperature rose sharply and created a serious problem with the transport of chocolate to the market”.

Slow movement in clothing and footwear

However, the purchasing movement is not as high in clothing and footwear, as noted by the president of the trade association of Thessaloniki, Pantelis Filippidis. “Clothing and footwear at an unprecedented rate, as consumers have turned their attention to essentials. Unfortunately the money is not enough, the market is not moving, only supermarkets for food, basic necessities and a large part of the money goes to the operating expenses of the families. The gifts for the baptisms will be given in the last week, so we expect some related movement then. However, with the apnea that has existed until now, it is difficult for the market to recover”, he says.

As he emphasizes, “in clothes and shoes, from the Christmas holidays until today, the drop exceeds 30%, according to our own estimates. You no longer see people walking around the market with bags in their hands. The indicators say that the Greeks have increased their debts to the public and the small and medium-sized businesses are in danger of disappearing.”

Buns from 17 to 20 euros

The president of the Union of Bakers of Thessaloniki, Elsa Koukumeria, explains that “this year, the prices of simple buns will range from 12 euros per kilo to 15 euros and chocolate buns will cost from 17 to 20 euros with today’s chocolate prices, while last year the price ranged from 14-17 euros per kilo». He notes that “Easter is very late and many consumers will avoid buying chocolate eggs, because there is a risk that they will melt and they are difficult to preserve, resulting in us losing a large part of our turnover. Compared to other years, we are already down 30%.”

“With subdued shopping traffic, but with hope for a better Holy Week, pastry shops await consumers full of chocolate creations. There are products for all budgets. If one searches the market, one can find chocolate eggs that start at two euros and of course can reach up to 100 euros, depending on the size and the difficulty of decoration. Of course, there are also special orders, since Easter day is used for engagements. A wonderful hare had a diamond ring in a can”, points out Marios Papadopoulos, the president of the Thessaloniki Confectioners’ Guild, speaking to APE-MBE.

Source: RES-MPE

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