KIOSK and bakery owners yesterday lashed out at supermarket chains seeking to form an association to stop them from selling groceries.
According to a report in yesterday’s Phileleftheros, supermarket chains Orphanides, Alpha-Mega, Chris Cash and Carry and other smaller chains are set to meet at the end of the month in order to form the new association that would challenge the sale of groceries at kiosks, which they claim affect their financial interests.
In a letter to House President Demitris Christofias, supermarkets claim “bakeries, fruit markets and kiosks are breaking the law by selling groceries.”
The supermarkets warned the problem was getting out of hand and that if a solution was not found soon there would be “unforeseen consequences”.
“We don’t want to call our supermarkets kiosks so that we can work on a 24-hour basis, but if they insist on selling groceries, then they should work at the hours set by the law,” the supermarkets’ statement read.
But speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, kiosk owners warned they would not go down without a fight.
“They are allowed to sell bread at lower prices, they are allowed to sell cigarettes and magazines, but nobody complains about that,” one kiosk owner in Paphos said.
“But there are other ways to play the game, I could divide my shop into two parts, one being a mini-market and the other functioning as a kiosk, so I would operate the mini-market until 7pm and then shut it and operate the kiosk, is that what they want?”
POVEK General Secretary Melios Georgiou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the issue was being discussed with the Interior Ministry and a catalogue of products allowed to be sold at kiosks, which was published a few months ago, would have to be changed.
Georgiou said he understood the supermarkets’ concern, but said they were also breaking the rules by working on holidays and staying open longer than allowed by the law.
“They shouldn’t really complain that much. After all, they sell products really cheap, they stay open until late and they break the law on some issues as well,” he said.
“But the whole issue is being discussed with the Ministry of Interior and we are expecting an answer soon.”
But Chris Cash and Carry director Andreas Andreou yesterday rubbished reports of an all out war against kiosks, saying supermarkets simply wanted to co-exist.
“We are not waging war, we just want the law to be upheld,” he told the Cyprus Mail.
“We are not saying they shouldn’t sell groceries, but if they want to act as supermarkets then they should abide by the law. We get fined for one minute delay if we stay open, and they can work for 24 hours.”
