Turnover is falling, people's purchasing power is decreasing, staff is aging, many store owners are tired of constant innovations and changes - traders are sounding the alarm about the demise of small retail outlets. This was stated by the chairman of the board of the Lats store chain, Raimonds Okmanis, on the TV24 channel in the program Preses klubs.
He acknowledged that a spoonful of tar is added to all this by various new rules and restrictions - from taromats to restrictions on alcohol trade. "All this creates a negative impression, plus the fact that many media outlets focus on the huge markups, prices, and the store owner is to blame for everything," said Okmanis.
The businessman believes that these markups are not that significant, and with small turnovers, the markup should be even higher. But then the question arises again - will customers want to shop in such a store? Okmanis added that "now there is so much piled on the cart that people get tired."
Every time there are some "sharp movements," people appear, including store owners, who prefer to end this business. This happens in any business. It serves as a kind of justification for them - now I can’t manage anymore because I need to buy new cash register systems, computers, price tags, and so on. This is self-justification - now I can close the store. This is mainly how it happens, Okmanis explained.
