Greek supermarkets: Thanopoulos showed small drop in turnover in 2021 with profits at 3.38 million euros

The Thanopoulos supermarket chain, which celebrates its 145 years of operation this year, expects a slight drop in sales for 2022.

“This is due to the extraordinary increase in sales of certain months of 2021, due to the sanitary laws of the pandemic and the ban on the operation of restaurants,” it says in the financial statement for 2021, published yesterday.

The chain’s turnover for 2021 amounted to 53.23 million euros against 55.18 million euros in 2020, recording a decrease of 3.5%.

Also read: Supermarkets: Inflation took a toll on their coffers

Profitability also declined in 2021. In particular, the company had net profits before taxes of 3.38 million euros compared to 4.76 million euros in 2020, while the period result after taxes was profitable at 2.54 million euros from 3.57 million euros in the previous financial year.

Although the percentage of profits before taxes due to turnover was lower compared to 2020 (6.35% against 8.64%), it continues to move higher than sector big names.

The company’s average staff during the period 2021 amounted to 370 employees from 348 in 2020.

Different growth model

Without any loans, the chain of the Thanopoulos family has three stores in the northern suburbs of Attica and an e-shop, while its +18,000 codes do not include private label products.

Contrary to what happens in the organized retail sector, where the majority of chains seek turnover through the growth of their network, either through organic growth or through acquisitions, the Thanopoulos family chain, currently managed by Telis and Periklis Thanopoulos, based on own funds and with strategic clarity, has no ambitions for horizontal expansion.

Although in recent years the Thanopoulos stores have not changed in terms of number, they have changed appearance, with the company having recently proceeded with their complete renovation.

From 2018 and especially during the pandemic, emphasis was also placed on the development of electronic sales.

The only Greek supermarket with 145 years of history

The history of Thanopoulos begins in 1877 when Athens was dominated by grubby and smelly groceries.

At the time, young Panagiotis Thanopoulos opened his own spice shop at 79 Aiolou Street, which was to become the starting point of a series of unimaginable innovations for the time, on the difficult path towards the Europeanization of the Greek food retail trade.

That delicatessen was a point of reference for the social elite of the time.

It is indicative of the fact that Panagiotis Thanopoulos, who started at the age of 14 from mountainous Arcadia to work in Athens as a grocery delivery boy, bought lands near the Danube regions and produced his own caviar.

Even satirical poet Georgios Souris in his newspaper “Romios”, in the issue of March 30, 1885, wrote: “Yelvas caviar and cheeses and beer in the bottle, priceless champagne as well as so much more, that is roe and the box of sardines, finest quality olives, pickles and salamis, of Thanopoulos adorn the brilliant grocery store, which lies there near the Royal photographer”.

In 1911, with an advertisement in the daily newspapers, he asked to hire women as sales assistants in his shop, a year before the passing of the law allowing women to work.

Although it sounds exaggerated, one could say that by today’s standards, Thanopoulos of 1880, with hygiene rules, the highest level of service and a nice environment, was a “supermarket” and “deli” of the time.

A worthy successor of Panagiotis Thanopoulos is his son, Pantelis (Telis). A well-educated, active and insightful man, in 1931 he moved the business to a larger building, in Haftia, launching the first multi-faceted general store shop. He even set up in-store restaurants!

Retail boom

The 1950s and 1960s were great times for domestic retail. The children of Telis Thanopoulos continue to develop the company with the same creativity.

Inspired by the world-famous “Fauchon” and “Migro”, they added a Delicatessen section, while contributing to the establishment of the supermarket model in the Greek market.

In the book recounting the history of the Thanopoulos family (From “Gorcery store to Supermarkets” by Lydia Sapounaki-Drakaki and Maria Louiza Tzoia – Moatsou, Kastaniotis publications) we read: “(…) the system of “wide consumption through self-service” was implemented for the first time in Greece in 1960, in a small restaurant of the “Flokas” company in the center of Athens.

Its implementation in a food store was undertaken by the Thanopoulos brothers in 1961 in the historic polymorphic grocery store in Haftia, where thirty years earlier Pantelis Thanopoulos had moved his father’s business”.

Until 1972, the five sons of Pantelis Thanopoulos gradually created a chain of 16 self-service stores in the areas of Haftia, Fokionos Negri, P. Faliro, Alexandras Ave., Archelaou St., Patision St., Kifissia, Mithymnis St., Makrygianni, and elsewhere.

Change of course

Dimitrios Thanopoulos foresaw the growth of Athens towards the North, became independent and opened the first store in 1980 under the name “Dimitrios Thanopoulos SA”. in the square of Nea Kifisia.

The second store opened in 1996, opposite the Kifisia electric railway station, while the third store was also created, at the corner of Char. Trikoupi and Aiantos, to better serve New Erythrea and the surrounding areas.

Successors

Today the brothers Periklis and Telis – the children of Dimitris Thanopoulos – fourth generation in the business – continue to pioneer, betting on the triptych that represented the founder – their great-grandfather: “variety, quality, personal service”.

In fact, they seek not only adequate nutrition but also “optimal” nutrition, adding functional foods, superfoods, the ketogenic diet and other trends to an ever-changing nutritional map.