Closed for ever? NO ONE can accuse the Greeks of over-commercialising Christmas. Central Athens at the end of November had little of the seasonal sparkle you find in other European capitals. The economic crisis has broken the spirit of Greece’s normally enthusiastic shoppers. Private consumption has dropped by a fifth since 2008. The misery is compounded by incessant protests, which snarl traffic and halt public transport in the city centre. “Shops don’t expect anything from Christmas,” says a flower vendor in the posh Kolonaki district. “For Rent” is the fastest-growing retail chain, goes the bitter joke.The gloom is not evenly spread. Shopping malls, relatively new to Greece, do better than high streets. Sales of men’s clothes have collapsed; those of women’s have done a bit better and children’s best of all. The crisis has pummelled international brands but lifted local ones that trade on their Greekness. Carrefour, a French supermarket behemoth, sold its stake in its Greek operation in June. Alfa Beta, though, is a star in the 11-country network of its Belgian owner, Delhaize....
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