Living in Greece

Golden Hall in Athens

November 30, 2008 at 13:29 ·

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the golden hall is housed in the building previously used as the international broadcast center for the olympics… the place where all television and radio signals gathered from all over and subsequentally sent to the globe.

i don’t think i was alone in hoping that the infrastructure built for the olympics would somehow be utilized to actually benefit people with, perhaps, art or culture, instead of becoming another altar to profit.

Kat Reply:
November 30th, 2008 at 22:04

TMT – Truly, I agree with you. I’m not opposed to the buildings and stadiums going to some use instead of nothing. However, they were originally supposed to be vehicles to enrich the local neighborhood, attract international events and serve the residents of Athens as a common good, not bring more traffic, pollution and, as you said, profiteering for few. Sad.

wasn’t aware that Latsis owned Attica too.

Attica department store barely made 1.5 million profit after its first year of trading; hardly a goldmine.

Kat Reply:
November 30th, 2008 at 22:13

B – Latsis (Lambda) doesn’t own Attica, however minor shareholders in Attica also hold shares in Golden Hall and Mall of Athens.

Nooooooooooooo. Stop the mall invasion in Greece. Keep your local stores, your Mom-and-Pops. Keep people walking on the streets and greeting each other like humans, keep your town centers and shopping districts.

Seriously, beware the mall. Next thing you know you’ll have a Taco Bell and a Burger King in them. Long live the souvlaki. Shan

Kat Reply:
November 30th, 2008 at 22:15

GC – One of the things I like about GR is the mom-and-pop stores, but I don’t mind a mall if it provides many good stores in one place because people without cars or in wheelchairs (has elevators) might find it convenient to shop all in one place. The problem, in my humble opinion, is the selection of stores is not very good, the selection once inside the store is limited because of space, and prices aren’t competitive. Three malls in one city and two in the same suburb is excessive.

Hi!

I don’t see the connection between the ownership of Attica Department Store with the other two. I have the impression that Lamda (Latsis) has Golden Hall and about 50.8% of the Athens Mall, with ELMEC Sport and a few other investors without apparent connections to Latsis having the Attica Department Store. I would be interested to know what the connection is between Attica and the other two. (Certainly won’t be the first — or last — time that I’ve failed to see something in the spiderweb of Greek business interests that continues to stifle competition.)

Regards!

Kat Reply:
November 30th, 2008 at 22:44

T – The Attica owners are: Elmec Sport (25 percent), Epirotiki (25 percent), Constantine Lambropoulos (10 percent), Alexis Sgoumbopoulos (10 percent), Ritchie Francis (10 percent), Constantine Tsouvelekakis (10 percent), Vassiliki Foka (5 percent), and Asterios Economidis (5 percent).

Some Attica owners have a share of the Mall of Athens and Golden Hall, which is the reason Attica has a presence inside GH and aren’t considered competitors. Who owns what percentage? I don’t have that information at the moment.

P.S. I forgot to add that the gateway “flag” you got might have occurred precisely at the time some plug-ins were being updated.

This is a great development. One of the major effects of a huge shopping mall is to generate huge amounts of auto traffic, something Athens certainly needs more of.

Kat Reply:
December 1st, 2008 at 21:18

B – True…and how sad.

I came back to your post as I was interested in your feedback. Good points! Our Papou has often said that it is impossible for the disabled to navigate the streets in many respects, and I can see the issues. I’m just rather a mall hater myself as to me it typifies the quest for consumption.

Kat Reply:
December 1st, 2008 at 18:19

GC – Aside from disabled access, there’s nothing good about it. So I agree with you, being a mall hater myself. Just one of many things I hate about living in the USA.

Don’t forget that “The Mall” is the largest illegally erected building in Europe.

Kat Reply:
December 1st, 2008 at 21:20

BB – Another good point. An excellent topic for another post.

Another advantage is that Greek teenagers in the area will now have a genuine American-style mall to hang out at. Like, what’s, like, Greek for, like, “like”?

Kat Reply:
December 1st, 2008 at 18:21

B – LOL! Your comments never fail to make me laugh. “Loipon” isn’t quite the same.

As an American living on Paros I found my first visit to The Mall quite interesting.

i was eastbound trying to get home on saturday and i tried getting off of the attica road at the kifissias ring. it had a traffic jam that looked like it was going to last for hours — so i gave up and went to the next exit.

any connection to the golden hall? you think?

we’re doomed.

the only good/new thing about Golden Hall is that Wagamama’s finally came to Greece. But who on earth would close a whole mall all day long Sunday!!!! Only in Greece…

Kat Reply:
December 2nd, 2008 at 20:23

S – I agree with you on both counts. Wagamama is a good thing, and closing on Sunday when people have leisure time to shop is a bad idea. Although they now open the mall on Sunday to allow people to “window shop” and accommodate passage to restaurants. Thanks for stopping in.

I love this site! Okay on to the post – I am absolutely not thrilled about the mallization of Europe generally speaking – they’re everywhere and I personally find it excruciating to walk through some amazing cities only to be confronted with a behemoth mall that is supposed to induce me to spend money – I end up talking to locals to find the boutiques and have a much better time.

Perhaps the only saving grace of something like this is that it does in fact raise employment – although – I expect that you know have a better grasp of the numbers to know if it in facts helps raise the bar or not.

Having spent some time in Greece however, I don’t expect the mall to ever the replace the cafenio – at least in summer – where you can sit for hours without spending more than a cup of coffee, smoke to your hearts content and watch all the action.

Kat Reply:
December 3rd, 2008 at 23:23

P – It raises employment marginally, but it doesn’t really contribute to quality of life for most since the only people who can afford to go to these malls are usually the elite. I agree that the kafeneio and small shops will never go away, but it’s getting harder with the continued violence and the economy, which will see conglomerates merging to survive.

i don’t know if the kafeneio will be replaced completely, but the mall, the next to newest one, is full to capacity on the weekends, with other customers searching in vain for a seat among the lucky hordes that have already found one. the high cost of everything and the ridiculous cost of paid parking doesn’t seem to be a deterrent. this is aided by the fact that it’s right next to the neratziotissa metro station and people from all over athens can visit.

i saw buses labeled ‘golden hall’ at the station, perhaps serving as a shuttle for the public to the less -conveniently located golden hall.

you can’t know if the malls are raising employment or, with the decrease in smaller businesses all around, actually reducing it on the whole. perhaps someone has numbers on that.

small businesses are giving way to large in greece, as they are the world over.

Kat Reply:
December 4th, 2008 at 23:25

TMT – So true.

Just a few words.

I belonged to a group of people, who built the main power supply rooms at Golden Hall. Let me inform you that almost the whole building was transformed by foreign people (Pakistans,Albanians,Romans,Polish etc.) VERY few Greeks, and only by one of the construction companies responsible.

The building had no maintenance since the Olympic Games, and was — and still is– filled with dust all around, even more with garbage on the rooftops. So what shines in front of your eyes doesn`t mean it`s “Gold”…..and much more to say, but that`s enough. Thanks. That`s all…..

Kat Reply:
December 20th, 2008 at 21:25

Panayiotis – Thank you for taking the time to share your inside information. Unfortunately, I think this is the norm here.

For anyone that has a disability, the ,all is the best thing ever invented. There is no opeming of heavy doors or waiting for some one to do it for you–not to say that someone would not do it. There is no trying to wheel thru rain drops. There is no having some one driving to many different places to do your shopping. Many selections are in one place. I love Greece especially Athens with all it’s shops. Noone loves Plaka, Monastiraki, the islands, etc. more than I do, bit have a little compasion for those of us who are disabled (also baby strollers).

Kat Reply:
February 12th, 2009 at 21:26

E – If you read the comments above, I already mentioned this fact in the 5th comment and others agreed, so obviously we do have compassion.

However, since the disabled are largely disrespected by the Greek state/society and underemployed (discrimination), there is no guarantee they’d have the private means (financial, logistical, transport, etc.) to go to the mall unless their family/friends can assist them. Therefore, it is the government and society lacking compassion.

Interesting. I’m actually quite surprised that Greece is so far behind with their shopping malls. Down here in South Africa shopping malls are big business & some of the most succesful retail venues are owned and run by Greek property companies. Greeks being a tiny minority here hold an incredibly influential position particularly in the retail industry. This industry is very professionally run & among the most resilient.

I guess if the local Greeks could humble themselves a little bit & accept some help & guidance from their overseas brethren, things can improve dramatically. Personally i’m no fan of shopping malls but I do appreciate the convenience and the vast business & job creation opportunities they bring to the table.

Toomanytribbles mentions small business being affected by big business. That is a concern that many people have especially about shopping malls killing off the little guy. Well a properly run mall will consist of a symbiotic relationship of small & big business, a healthy mix of strong brands & unique independent stores under one roof that caters for a wide spectrum of customers.

This is a win-win situation, big business will attract the vast majority of visitors, the smaller guys will cater for individual customer tastes & the property owners will enjoy strong returns while maintaining the mall infrastructure, upgrading it every 4-5 years & preserving a good mix of stores as mentioned above.

If the mall isn’t managed correctly it will bomb & everyone will be affected. As for businesses that are located nearby a new shopping mall, they will most likely take a hit when that mall starts operating. Fortunately the market is self-correcting and profits should return to normal in about 3-6 months. If that doesn’t happen, it either means the area those small businesses are operating in has now turned into a dead spot, or those businesses are not being run correctly but that should really be picked up before the entry of strong competition.

Demetri, for a guy who says “I’m no fan of shopping malls”, it sounds like you could be their PR guy.

However, I’ve been to Joberg and have to agree with you. Additionally, Joberg has hit the mark on making some Las Vegas style Casinos with a shopping mall environment as well. I visited the Montecasino last July and literally I thought I was in any high-end Las Vegas Casino with it’s high end stores.

Bravo to Joberg!

Hey there Scorpion, glad to hear you enjoyed the Montecasino, it is indeed impressive. I do have a vested interest in the retail industry over here as it is one of the most vibrant so I do know a bit about the business. However some of my favourite haunts are not located inside shopping complexes & I prefer the sense of community and the somewhat bohemian atmosphere that you get in the downtown suburbs in and around Joburg.

I am wondering how much they are charging for rent in the mall or golden hall. I was curious enough to contact the owners and they are very secretive about it and wouldn’t give me any information. Does anyone know?

Kat Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 01:42

Maybe they don’t see a reason to release that information, if there are no spaces available. Transparency isn’t one of Greece’s strong points and questions are sometimes treated as suspicious, as you probably know, and there are owners who play games and ask inappropriate questions in order to screen the best candidates.

If it were me, I would ask a Greek (male) friend to call and express a strong interest in renting a space, or get on a waiting list if there are none available, then find out the information that way.