APOSTOLOS KAISIDIS is thankful that in 2008, after nearly half a century dealing in cars, his family firm moved out of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, to a cheaper place 50km away, and started repairing vehicles as well as selling them. If it hadn’t, “we would probably be bankrupt now,” he says. In crisis-ridden Greece, companies have had to adapt to survive.Only about 50,000 new cars are expected to be bought in Greece this year, down from 220,000 in 2009, partly because loans are scarce. But with more ageing bangers on the roads, the repairs side of his business has been busy.Since April 2008 the number of businesses registered with IKA, Greece’s biggest social-security fund, has dropped by 119,000, or 38%. In such a brutal climate, businesses have had to do much more than just tighten their belts.Relocating is one popular survival strategy. Whereas Mr Kaisidis has moved his firm out to the sticks to cut costs, Anna Maria Mazaraki, the owner of nine jewellery shops in Athens, is taking advantage of weak commercial rents and moving some stores to more upmarket sites. That ensures higher footfall and gives customers the impression she must be doing well, she says.Others are moving their headquarters—but not necessarily their operations—out of Greece, to get access to cheaper funding. Last year Fage, the country’s leading purveyor of yogurt, and Coca-Cola...
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