Call us resistant. This is how neighborhood shops are defined in the throes of increases in the cost of raw materials and energy, without forgetting the decline in consumption as families see their purchasing power decrease. A possible solution? Rearranging work to optimize resources, but it seems more like a temporary answer. And the proposal that emerges is to eliminate or reduce bank fees to pay bills.
“It’s the perfect storm: electricity, gas and raw materials are increasing. Consumers spend less – explains Tiziano Bosco, Confcommercio Treviso Bakery Group which represents almost 150 businesses in the province – we have turned off the signs, halved the lights in the shop and reduced the working hours by half an hour to turn off the ovens earlier. The consumption of 1 kilo bread per capita was reduced to 50 grams. We do not want to make consumers pay the price increases, we try to differentiate the offer with sweet and savory products, someone acts as a cafeteria and offers quick meals. Sunday 13 November in Valdobbiadene there is the general assembly of the Bakers Group and we will talk about how to reorganize the work to optimize time and increase revenues ».
Renzo Ghedin, president of the Confcommercio Treviso Ortofrutta Group, gives a voice to his 167 associates: «We haven’t gotten into winter vegetables yet and sales have decreased. November is the most difficult month for fruit and vegetables but now we are also blaming the signs of the crisis, in particular the energy crisis, and everything has increased, even the bags. We are taking on the price increases, but the situation cannot last long. There are colleagues who are thinking of closing, for the neighborhood shops there has been little help ».
For Ghedin, a possible answer is the elimination of bank commissions: «It would be enough for us to do our job without other burdens. In my little one I pay between 3 and 4 thousand euros in bank commissions: it is an important cost, we are not opposed to electronic transactions because they have advantages for us too, it would be to eliminate this expense so we could pay our bills ».