tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post3746140972350792895..comments2023-07-17T11:55:51.363+02:00Comments on ObservingGreece: Buying reading glasses in Greecekleinguthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-8759883727770148132018-04-22T15:02:11.972+02:002018-04-22T15:02:11.972+02:00Gemma - on any Liaki (street market) in Greece you...Gemma - on any Liaki (street market) in Greece you can find reading glasses @ Euro 2,50. Shop just before the market is closing and you could buy for Euro 2,00.<br /><br />Jon C<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-62490197626834952192013-08-03T13:26:49.758+02:002013-08-03T13:26:49.758+02:00Nothing ground breaking in this article Klaus but ...Nothing ground breaking in this article Klaus but you do not highlight the supreme irony of the crisis in Greece and the complete ignorance of the majority Greeks.<br /><br />On the one hand you have 99% of Greeks understanding the government through taxes and regulations are at the heart of the problem in Greece and yet you have 70% of Greeks voting for political parties who want to expand the scope and power of government..........It is a crazy situationlimit_lessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-69931850125113636292012-11-11T20:43:47.730+01:002012-11-11T20:43:47.730+01:00I think you have answered your own question. It ce...I think you have answered your own question. It certainly isn't your fault as a Greek businessman that your lenses are not competitive if that is due to the constraints you mention (lack of capital, taxes, government, etc.). What you describe is an investment environment which is unattractive to private enterprise and, consequently, to private capital. I don't have the statistics but it would be interesting to check how much German companies, to take only one country, invest directly outside Germany every year. I am sure that this would be a very substantial number. That money goes to countries where the investors deem the business framework to be attractive (and Greece is not among them) and many countries compete for that money buy offering the best business framework they possibly can.<br /><br />The World Bank's Doing Business 2012 Report ranked Greece at position 100. The 2013 report ranked it at position 78. That is indeed good news. The bad news is that even at position 78, Greece is still the least attractive place to do business within the Eurozone. <br /><br />To create attractive business conditions is the government's job. Regrettably so, because if the government fails, individuals like yourself or your employees can do very little about it.<br /><br />PS: the production of lenses isn't necessarily something where I would expect Greece to have significant competitive advantages. But I feel strongly that there are a lot of other areas where Greece has competitive advantages as well as significant potential. Perhaps you want to take a look at the McKinsey Report which I summarized in the post below.<br /><br />http://klauskastner.blogspot.gr/2012/10/a-growth-model-for-greece-post-scriptum_27.htmlkleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-20358793066940701592012-11-11T15:22:13.403+01:002012-11-11T15:22:13.403+01:00I've read several of your articles. While I ag...I've read several of your articles. While I agree that new production and investment is what Greece needs, you seem really prejudiced as to why this doesn't happen. You always say that it's up to the Greekes, look at Costco etc.<br /><br />I must remind you, that if you look at the numbers, eg here:<br />http://slackwire.blogspot.gr/2012/11/what-drives-trade-flows-mostly-demand.html?spref=fb you'll see that in the boom years Greece was actually producing more goods and was more competitive. Why? ACCESS TO CAPITAL.<br /><br />There's only one company in Greece and their lenses aren't as good as Zeiss. Well, if you try to create another lens-making company, you'll find that you need financing and capital to get started. You'll find exorbitant taxes. If you make a profit you won't be able to invest it back in the company, but the state will take it, under direct orders from Tomsen mind you (the "ektakti eisfora" was his proposal, I've heard the demand for it from his own lips, as well as the demand for higher VAT). So, is it my fault as a Greek busssinessman that my lenses aren't competitive? Is it my workers' fault?Foofootosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-69585157704994331592012-10-16T12:29:43.438+02:002012-10-16T12:29:43.438+02:00If your a whole day reader, try LED Readers glasse...If your a whole day reader, try <a href="http://www.opticbrights.com/" rel="nofollow">LED Readers</a> glasses to help you see more with the help of LED lights. This way, you can read your favorite books everywhere you like.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01583677828615301306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-55241252112929777212012-10-06T11:00:04.848+02:002012-10-06T11:00:04.848+02:00I must admit to being surprised at the cost of the...I must admit to being surprised at the cost of these "cheapie" reading glasses. 19 euros? I noticed some the other day for €5. <br /><br />That was in Austria.<br /><br />May I ask what the Greeks are up to? If they are over-charging to that degree is it any wonder they have economic problems. <br /><br />As a response to Canutely King above, five companies do dominate. Eyeglasses after all are a commodity. That means scale and efficiency count: think of the 15000TEU Emma Maersk! Older vessels from the 80s and 90s are simply too small to even have a toehold in the business now. <br /><br />However, Herr Kastner's article points to something that is not understood well even here in the Nordeuro Zone: how to make it obvious that you have something to sell. It is no less common here to find people who simply put out their wares and expect the public to simply turn up and buy. That seems to work for now. Should times get even tougher, that will be when they finally realize their business model doesn't work. <br /><br />My tenet is if the question is about money, it is the wrong question. The question is who is spending that money and why. That level of service saw you walking away with some expensive reading glasses. That you didn't want them was a little injurious to that business - as you won't be recommending it to anyone. That is a mistake of the first order, as recommends from people such as yourself (= the customer) drive a large chunk of sales. The aim is to get those people who really want them, and come away happy with the big purchase. <br /><br />Can Greece do this? I know Germany can't. <br />Gemmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01544898113676166032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-58339105420182920292012-10-06T02:36:51.265+02:002012-10-06T02:36:51.265+02:00Did the shop offer you Greek manufactured lenses?
...Did the shop offer you Greek manufactured lenses?<br /><br />If not, I suggest that's because there aren't any! Five companies dominate the manufacture of the eyeglass lens market: <br /><br />3 Japanese - Nikon, Hoya & Seiko <br />1 German - Zeiss <br />1 French - Essilor (the biggest)<br /><br />If you really think a Greek start-up could compete with those corporations then... <br /><br />Below that you are up against the Taiwanese, Chinese, Malaysians etc - such as the €19 mass produced off-the-shelf teasers that the shop didn't have.<br /><br />CKCanutely Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07318977471631386327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-27954991074158206482012-10-05T18:56:31.199+02:002012-10-05T18:56:31.199+02:00And reasons like this (forgetting or needing to ge...And reasons like this (forgetting or needing to get reading glasses on vacation) is the main reason I had my <a href="www.2020eyesite.com/" rel="nofollow">iLASIK</a> procedure a few years ago. I could not stand having to go and find a place that sold glasses, and trying them on, some places had different magnifications, just a huge hassle. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353599278952133516noreply@blogger.com