Business News
Current recession equals in length longest previously recorded
Photo: Svilen Milev, stock.xchng
The Czech Republic’s ongoing economic recession has equalled in duration
the previous longest recession on record, in 1997. Preliminary figures
released this week showed that gross domestic product shrank by 0.2 percent
between the third and fourth quarters of 2012, making it four quarters of
decline on the trot. The causes of the protracted downturn are Eurozone
stagnation and falling domestic demand, with spending impacted by
government austerity measures. What’s more, analysts say the economy is
unlikely to pick up before the second quarter of this year at the earliest.
Kuba: government to address solar price scandal soon
Photo: Archive of Radio Prague
The Czech minister of industry and trade, Martin Kuba, said this week that
the government would as soon as possible look into an audit at the Energy
Regulatory Office that found officials there may have acted illegally in
setting excessively high purchase prices for solar electricity. The head of
the regulatory body has said the matter may have cost the state tens of
billions of crowns.
Spirits ban costs Becherovka CZK 100 million
Photo: Google Maps
A three-week ban on the sale of spirits imposed in September following a
wave of deaths caused by poisonous bootleg booze cost the Czech beverages
industry dear. One of the best-known local brands, Becherovka, said this
week that its sales had been down by 12 percent year-on-year in the second
half of 2012, leading it to suffer losses of a whopping CZK 100 million.
The makers of the herbal bitter said sales in key export markets such as
Germany, Russia and in particular Slovakia had also been hit very hard.
Agency: Czechs turning away from discount outlets
Photo: Archive of Radio Prague
Discount outlets in the Czech Republic are starting to lose market share,
as almost half of Czech consumers already shop in large hypermarkets,
retail specialists Incoma GfK said this week. A spokesperson for the agency
said that in a time of crisis Czechs prefer to buy discounted branded goods
from hypermarkets rather than cheap products at discount retailers. In
addition, the promotional leaflets announcing price deals that clog up many
people’s mailboxes seem to work, with 37 percent of consumers last year
saying they made shopping choices on the basis of such ads.
Art collectors spent CZK 5.4 billion at auctions in last decade
Emil Filla
Art collectors have spent in the region of CZK 5.4 billion at auctions in
the Czech Republic in the last decade, the publication Art+ said this week.
More than 750 artworks have sold for over CZK 1 million since 2003. The
Czech artists that generate the biggest sums when their work goes under the
hammer include Emil Filla, František Kupka, Jindřich Štyrský and Toyen.
Logistics king Piškanin named entrepreneur of year
Photo: Hopi
The Czech Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2012 was presented this week to
František Piškanin, owner of the logistics and transport company HOPI.
Piškanin started out in business with a small supermarket in Karlovy Vary
in 1992. Today his firm is one of the biggest players in the logistics
field in Central and Eastern Europe, employing over 3,000 people in the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania. His Czech award
means he will be considered for the World Entrepreneur of the Year Award in
Monte Carlo, which is also organised by auditors Ernst & Young.
