COUNTRY

ANALYSIS:
GREECE
RAGINI
SUNDARRAMAN
E002

HISTORY
Stone Age and Bronze Age: Settlements in
Ancient Greece dates from the Palaeolithic era
(11,000-3,000 BC)
Classical Period: The foundations of the western
civilization were created in Athens.
Roman Period: The Romans conquered Greece
and a new period started for Greek history
Ottoman Period and the Independence War:
In March 182, the Greek War of Independence
broke out and the country achieved Independence
in 1829
The Twentieth Century:

FACTS
The Hellenic Republic
Capital: Athens
Population11.4 million
Area131,957 sq km
Major languageGreek
Major religionChristianity
Life expectancy78 years (men),
83 years
Currencyeuro

GEOGRAPHY
Greece is a peninsular and
mountainous country located in
Southern-Eastern Europe
The country has the largest
coastline in Europe (13,676km) due
to its numerous islands
Capital: Athens
Regions in Greece
1.

Sterea (Central Greece)

2.

Peloponnese, Thessaly (East Central)

3.

Epirus (North West)

4.

Macedonia (North)

5.

Thrace (North West)

Greek Islands
There are more than 2,000 large
and smaller greek islands
scattered both in the Aegean
and the Ionian Sea
The largest Greek island is Crete
and the second largest is Evia.

NATURAL RESOURCES
Very rich in natural resources providing:
oPetroleum
oMagnetite
oLignite
oBauxite
oHydropower
oMarble
Rich diversity in flora and fauna and many species are original in this country,
which means that they are found only there in the world
The limestone and volcanoes of Greece have composited the Greek territory
and allowed the formation of many caves and canyons

GREEK CULTURE

PDI SCORE: 60( Highly hierarchical)

LANGUAGE

TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS

Modern Greek is a
descendant of the
Ancient language and
is affiliated to the part
of the Greek or
Hellenic branch of
Indo-European

Many Panygiria are

organized in the country,
which religious celebrations
of saints followed by
traditional music and dance
in the square of the village

RELIGION

MUSIC

98% of the Greeks are

Christians Orthodox.
The rest of the
population are Muslims,
Roman Catholics and
Jewish.

The Greek music is of

unbelievable diversity due
to the assimilation of
different influences of the
Eastern and Western culture
of Asia and Europe

POLITICS
Official name
Hellenic Republic
Legal system
Based on the constitution of 1975
National legislature
Unicameral Vouli (parliament) of 300 members,
which is directly elected by a form of proportional
representation for a four-year term, although early
dissolution is possible
Electoral system
Universal direct suffrage over the age of 18
National elections
September 20th 2015. The next election must be
held by September 2019

President
Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Prime minister
Alexis Tsipras (Syriza)
Deputy prime minister
Yannis Dragasakis (Syriza)
The Prime Minister is Head of Government.
The Ministerial Council, consisting of the
Prime Minister, Ministers, Deputy Ministers
and Ministers without portfolio, is the
collective decision-making body that
constitutes the Government of Greece.

ECONOMY
GDP

(PPP):
$284.3 billion
0.8% growth
-4.8% 5-year compound annual
growth
$25,859 per capita

Unemployment:
26.3%
Inflation (CPI):
-1.4%

MAJOR EXPORTS : Goods, fruit, vegetables,

olive oil, textiles, steel, aluminium, cement, and
clothing, refined petroleum and petroleum-based
products
MAIN EXPORT PARTNERS: Germany, Italy,
United Kingdom, and United States
MAJOR IMPORTS : Industrial and capital goods,
foodstuffs, and petroleum
MAIN IMPORT PARTNERS : European Union
members (Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands,
UK), Russia and China

The global financial crisis of the late 2000s hit Greece particularly hard, as the legacy of high public
spending and widespread tax evasion combined with the credit crunch and the resulting recession to
leave the country with a crippling debt burden. Six straight years of recession beginning in 2008
reduced the economy by about a quarter of its previous size and drove unemployment to record
levels.

FAILURE OF STARBUCKS IN
GREECE
The Greek market is a very difficult place for international food and coffee franchises
-

Creatures of habit
Not thateasy to change their routine, the way they eat or enjoy their coffee

Greeks need a place where they can feel welcome to sit with their friends and talk about their daily
lives for hours at a time. However, self-service companies such as Starbucks do not feel so welcoming
Furthermore, Starbucks and other foreign coffee franchises prohibit smoking, which is another major
part of Greek peoples lives. Almost every group of friends in Greece has a smoker in their midst, who
usually complains about not being able to smoke, and therefore they choose to visit a coffee shop with
a more smoking-friendly environment
Intense competition from local upstart, Mikel Coffee Company. It is a popular destination for young people
in Greece, helping the company grow by leaps and bounds, beating Starbucks by a big margin. In just
eight years, Mikel has opened 84 stores and another 25 under way, while Starbucks has stuck with
30 stores.
Starbucks is a one person self-service show. The barista performs every task taking orders, preparing
drinks, and collecting the money. In contast, each Mikel Coffee store has its own manager who greets
and sits customers, waiters who take and orders, baristas who prepare the product to be served by
waiters, and cashiers who collect the money

THANK YOU!