Author: SME Chamber

GRTU has assessed once again the
performance of business prior, during, and followed by sales during the festive
season. This survey was carried out amongst various sectors within GRTU.

The sectors include the following;
wearing apparel (clothing & shoes), supermarkets & food stores,
electronic and IT equipment, household, automobiles, jewellers, hospitality and
leisure, wellness and beauty, pharmacy/medical and giftware.

Businesses surveyed were asked to
compare their sales performance for this year against 2011 resulting in the
following; 37% reported an increase on last year's sales, 40% reported a
decrease and 8% reported sales at the same level of the previous year.

When asked what were the positive and
negative issues affecting sales during the festive season, respondents reported
the following;

46% said that it was the business
tactics and incentives they introduced; 11% said  the favourable weather; 6% said that it was
the results of their sales promotion, while 3% reported that it was the opening
of a new retail outlet and the opening on Sundays that reflected this positive
outlook.

On the negative aspect 37% said that
they were affected by the current political instability, 17% were business
finance, 9% said that it was the lack of parking and the ongoing works, 6% said
changes in registration tax and 3% indicated that online shopping, early sales,
severe competition and stock delivery problems also affected their sales in the
negative.

When asked which week during the
festive season was the best week for sales, respondents replied as follows;

31% week beginning the 22nd,  29% week beginning 14th, 23% week beginning
the 8th Dec and 6% week beginning the 29th .

Amongst the most popular products
sold during this festive season were; tablets, 
gadgets and IT equipment, clothes and shoes, jewellery, perfumes,  gift packs, food and wine.

During a meeting held this week for
Valletta shops with the Prime Minister GRTU Council Member and owner of a
Valletta retail outlet Therese Fenech Azzopardi explained to the Prime Minister
what a difficult situation they have put businesses in with the Rent Reform.

She said that shops that have been
renting from the private sector prior to 1995 were very disappointed with the
reformed Rent Law which has put them in a position that in 17 years time they
will have to pass on the keys of the shop they have for so many years been
running and building to the property owner. To add insult to injury they have
not even given them the right of first refusal and most of those affected to
not even know this!

‘The majority of Valletta shops that
are Government owned have been given 45 years and the facility to sublet. In
comparison to how the others are being treated is a big injustice and we feel
we are treated as second class citizens by this Government. Our situation today
is that we cannot even pass on the shop to our children as after the 17 years
they will find themselves without a job. There is no incentive being put
forward by Government to help us and taking out loans for our shops is
impossible as we have nothing in front of the banks.'

The Prime Minister replied saying
that the right of first refusal can be considered but there is the European Law
that we have to regard in these circumstances. There must be some sort of
agreement with the lessor to reach a balance between the property owner and the
tenant. The Prime Minister continued saying that the report that establishes
the rent that must be paid for shops according to its position and dimensions
under Hon Chris Said has arrived to a conclusion. This study should now be
close to final.

The editorial of the latest issue of
the Employers' Group Members of EESC, Vincent Farrugia Director General of the
GRTU Malta Chamber of SME's and Maltese Employers representatives at EESC
appealed for a European Action Plan for Retail. Mr. Farrugia wrote that Retail is a
European success story, employing around 18 million people and accounting for
4.2% of GDP.

To achieve this European Commerce needs
a full and proper implementation of the Services Directive, the removal of
discriminatory trade and tax laws, and selective planning laws, the
establishment of an efficient digital retail market underpinned by competitive
and efficient payment services, and a significant reduction in the cumulative
impact of regulation. Legislation must not inhibit online cross border sales. A
test should apply      to current and future legislation, its implementation
and enforcement by Member States.

The Commerce sector need more effective
action on infringements, strengthening enforcement with greater administrative
co-ordination and acceleration of infringement procedures; stronger
notification procedures, and; better assessment of the impact on retail. There
should be an expert group on planning and the freedom of establishment.

Following the Commission's retail
market monitoring report of July 2010, and the Parliament's report on "a more
efficient and fairer retail market", the major EU level bodies representing
employers in retail trade want to work with the Parliament and Commission to
address the barriers, often regulatory, facing retailers and to secure greater
recognition of retail's important contribution to the European economy, now and
in the future.

These proposals relate to existing or
planned Commission initiatives. Both their impact on retail and their
importance for retail must be recognized. The European Action Plan for Retail
should: 

Enable a fully functioning internal market for goods,
services and capital,

Make the digital agenda a reality for business and
consumers,

Support employment, skills development and
entrepreneurship,

Support expansion beyond EU markets.

Food & beverage enterprises are invited to explore business
opportunities in UK and participate in a trade delegation to London from the 18
– 21 March 2013. At the same time the International Food Exhibition in London
will be held. Closing date for applications is Monday 21st January 2013. Send an email to or call on 21232881 if interested.

Lessons learnt, current
challenges and future opportunities. The European Economic and Social Committee is holding a half-day seminar to
disseminate amongst Maltese stakeholders the conclusions and recommendations
found in its recently-adopted opinion on an "Action plan to improve access
to finance for SMEs".

25 January 2013

09:00- 13.00

Dar l-Ewropa, 254, St Paul Street, Valletta

For registrations, kindly send an email to or call
on 23425100.

VAT fraud:
EC proposals will not solve the problem

UEAPME issued last week a position
paper on a proposal by the European Commission to create a "Quick Reaction
Mechanism" (QRM) to combat VAT fraud. Although cross-border VAT fraud hits both
Member States' budgets and honest companies, the suggested QRM is not a
suitable tool for solving the obvious problems associated with this issue,
wrote UEAPME. In fact, this mechanism focuses exclusively on reacting to fraud,
which is not sufficient to control it. According to UEAPME, a proactive
approach is needed, including the fast and effective exchange of information
between Member States, more manpower and better technical equipment for the relevant
tax authorities. Moreover, the EC suggestion to authorise Member States to
introduce country-specific measures could make matters worse and lead to "fraud
wandering" across the EU. Against this background, UEAPME rejected the EC
proposal.

Parliament's committee on Industry,
Research and Energy (ITRE) voted on two major instruments to help SMEs achieve
better access to finance and improve their business environment. MEPs came to a
compromise on their negotiating mandate for the Horizon 2020 package, the
research and innovation programme for 2014-2020.

COSME (the programme for the
Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs) was also adopted in ITRE which will
result in increased support for SMEs to boost their funding opportunities and
competitiveness by fostering a more entrepreneurial mind-set at European level
and increased market access for small businesses operating outside their home
countries. Originally, the programme carried a projected budget of €2.6
billion, however, the ITRE Committee called for a significant increase of the
allocated funds. COSME's final budget is subjected to the negotiations on the
EU's next Multi-annual Financial Framework.

For improvements in line with
business needs – Copenhagen Economics is conducting a
study on the behalf of the European Commission. The study is called "State of
play of the EU parcel market with particular emphasis on E-commerce" and aims
at identifying barriers and scope for improvement with respect to e-commerce
driven delivery.

The purpose of the study is to
investigate how domestic and cross-border delivery services can be improved to
best serve the needs of e-retailers (retailers selling products online) and
e-shoppers (customers buying products online).

To investigate the needs, preferences
and experiences of e-retailers across Europe
with respect to delivery of products sold online, an online survey has been
launched. It consists of 30 questions and will take the respondent no more than
15 minutes to complete. The survey is a way for e-retailers to inform the
European Commission about your needs and preferences, and the state of delivery
in your country. The results will serve as input to the European Commission and
its future policy decisions within this area.  

 Please
respond to the survey via the following link: 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ecommercedelivery  

The
deadline for the survey is Friday the 8th of February.

Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council
of the European Union for the first half of 2013. This is the seventh occasion
on which Ireland has held
the Presidency and it occurs on the fortieth anniversary of Ireland's accession to the Union.The chair welcomed the speaker and
asked for a short roundtable. The speaker introduced himself and updated the
members on the main priorities of Ireland's presidency.

The overarching theme for the
presidency is recovery, stability and jobs.

In particular, the key priorities
would be:

Implementing the Single Market Act I&II and moving forward on the
Digital Agenda,

International trade was also highlighted as a priority, in particular
concluding an FTA agreement with the US
but also with Japan, Singapore and Canada,

Jobs and growth are the key
priorities. In this area, the main focus will be on:

The youth unemployment package – youth guarantees

Posted workers,

Pension portability

SMEs will be at the core of their
political agenda with the objective of:

improving access to credit and different financial instruments

reducing the burden of red tape 

increase their competitiveness and entrepreneurship spirit  with the new programme COSME and the
forthcoming action plan on entrepreneurship.

 www.eu2013.ie