RAYA POPOVA: THE BUSINESS NO LONGER HAS RESOURCES, WE ARE EXPECTING NUMEROUS BANKRUPTCIES

The business has used up all its resources. The state must immediately pay the planned aid and generate additional funds for European projects to help the shut-down sectors of the economy - Raya Popova, Chairperson of the Bulgarian Retail Association (Member of BIA) pleaded on BNR.

A third lockdown for the business in a year means that a third collection cannot be realized and the losses are huge, she explained. The collections are planned and ordered months in advance; at the beginning of each season, the delivered goods are placed in the stores. The sales start around the middle of the season, ie the trader has two months at most to market the remaining goods, Raya Popova explained. According to her, after a few seasons, a collection is not only morally old-fashioned but also physically out-of-date.

The state did nothing to relieve or postpone the taxes, fees, insurances. The government didn't even delay the garbage tax deadline, even though the sites are shut down and cannot generate waste, she pointed out.

"A complete lockdown, as it was in the beginning, not only will allow the number of covid cases to drop but will eventually place all participants in the economic system in equal positions," Raya Popova stated. According to her, the current "quasi-measures" only result in unfair competition and benefit the privileged.

Bankruptcies were around 15% during the first lockdown; now we expect an avalanche of bankruptcies, Popova said.

"There is no predictability. We don't know whether to look for people or let go of them," she said.

Regarding the state's support measures, Popova pointed out that "the chaos in the system is quite great" and the business is experiencing difficulties for having to return documents "for the most insane reasons".

"Our colleagues submitted the required paperwork in November. We starting receiving some compensations at the end of January" Raya Popova recalled.