Zambolis apartments

Zambolis apartments
For your holidays in Chania

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Freedom of choice (Ελευθερία να επιλέγουμε)

The opening of a new supermarket is seen as a source of entertainment for us islanders who live in too small a place to maintain a wide and varied leisure market. Shopping and the opening of new megastores fulfills the need for the locals to see and do 'something different'. AB Vasilopoulos’ only store in Hania is located very close to my workplace. When I lived in Athens, I'd been to one of their other branches. I found the prices more expensive at the time, which I thought was mainly due to its stocking imported products like Cadbury's chocolate and Marmite, items one can never find in a neighbourhood supermarket, although this is also changing: more foreign products are becoming available in supermarkets as ex-pat communities are growing in Crete. For this reason, ABV is perceived as a supermarket for discerning shoppers with well-padded wallets, a belief that is well supported by their recent television advertisement. The supermarket admits that in the past, it may have had higher prices, but it now claims that its prices for basic staple products are the same or lower than other supermarkets, a sign of economically difficult times hitting the luxury end of consumerism.

ab vasilopoulos comes to hania
Advertising pamphlet for AB Vasilopoulos

I first used this supermarket out of curiosity (ie for its entertainment value). I did not expect to find what I saw. The supermarket shares very few features with other supermarkets in the region. Despite its limited space, it creates a 'shopping experience'. As you walk in through the entrance, you find recipe cards, information pamphlets about recycling, product quality checking, sustainability, and all manner of food and social concerns. The most documentation you will find in other supermarkets mainly has to do with special offers, monthly brochures and coupon collection pamphlets with which you can acquire, say, a set of porcelain dinner plates at a low cost if you manage to collect 100-or-so coupons, gaining one every time you spend (say again) 3 euro, and you still pay a certain amount of money to acquire them, despite your coupon collection!

The first goods bay you come across is the fresh produce section, which may sound natural to most people outside Greece, but in Hania, this is not at all common. The main entrance of most supermarkets is on the opposite side of the loading bays, so that the fresh produce section is always at the deepest most windowless corner of the store. Appearance and image play a great role in this supermarket. Both paper and plastic bags were available; in this way you could go for the former if you wanted to be environmentally friendly, or the latter if you wanted to be practical. There was also a box of tissues at hand if you got your hands dirty. None of these choices or conveniences are available in other supermarkets in Hania. This kind of respect for the customer is a novel approach in a country where, until only recently, food store assistants could be seen smoking at the same time as slicing salami.

The display cases for most of the fresh food products at ABV are placed in "islands" (as depicted in the picture in the advertising pamphlet above) making them look more appealing and fresher, while the shelves are reserved mainly for non-food products and boxed items. The staff uniforms resemble suits rather than the simple aprons supermarket assistants usually wear on top of their normal clothes. Their mannerisms - polite discreet smiles, knowledge of the products on their shelves, adherence to formalities such as asking for identification when paying by credit card - show the greatest deference to the customer; it conveys the trust that is often lacking these days in food-related businesses. These people almost looked like police officers, with their gray trousers, white shirts, red kerchiefs and blue cardigans. Even though there was a heatwave outside, these people were over-dressed within reason - the refrigeration and air-conditioning is set at such a high level (presumably to ensure the quality of the fresh products), that I was practically shivering in the store. It may have been Dubai outside, but indoors, it felt like Siberia.

My main price comparison index is based on the cost of milk. I was surprised to find that the brand of milk I usually buy at INKA (not the cheapest) was being sold more cheaply at ABV. But that was about all that was cheaper. Basic fruit costs more per kilo here than at other supermarkets, even though bananas and apples come from the same sources (nearly all the bananas sold in Greece come from South or Central America). Strawberries were over-priced (a pamphlet explained where they came from and praised their quality), while the feta cheese I usually buy from Carrefour (the only store to stock my preferred brand) was being sold at ABV at a cost of 2 euro more per kilo. After a more thorough search at the deli counter, I found that the cost of the same cheese in pre-packaged form was 9.68 euro per kilo, while the same product was being sold in bulk (ie you could buy the amount you want) at approximately 7.55 per kilo, which is what I was used to paying for it at Carrefour. More upmarket brands of imported products (eg Kikkoman soy sauce) were being sold in place of their cheaper counterparts (eg Blue Dragon). At the same time however, ABV also stocks its own-brand packaging for staples like rice, beans and sugar, and their prices were similar (if not cheaper) to other supermarkets.

Aesthetic appeal is very important in ABV. Many people will say ‘πουλάει βιτρίνα' (poulaei vitrina - he’s selling the ‘window display’). This was evident right throughout the store, especially at the impressive meat counter. There were cuts of meat that I don’t often see elsewhere: stuffed pork loins (in Greece, these are called ‘rollo’) with a variety of fillings and in different sizes, minced lamb meat (the mere collocation of these two words is laughed at in Crete), and veal (even though it was imported from France, it is extremely rare to come across it in Crete). As soon as I approached this part of the supermarket, the assistant called out the specials to me, and explained all the different cuts of meat in the display case. There were also many pre-packed meat cuts, something not so common in Crete, as people still like to see the blood and guts of the animals they buy for food.

ab vasilopoulos comes to hania ab vasilopoulos comes to hania
The amount of pastrouma I asked for was sliced freshly and each slice placed individually between plastic sheeting. This care in packaging is unheard of Hania; at any other supermarket, all the slices would have been placed on top of one another, leading to quicker product deterioration. The camembert is ABV's own brand (365); Marmite is imported.

I came to the conclusion that there was no real need to change my supermarket routine just because ABV had come to town. It is a useful place to pick up bread and milk (now that I know that it is priced competitively) and maybe the odd piece of fruit you have run out of at home, but you really need to know what you were paying before you come to shop here. Before leaving the store, I decided to make some specialist purchases, seeking out goods that I knew I wouldn’t find in other supermarkets. I didn’t really need to buy camembert, pastrouma and Marmite*; I've survived happily without them for the last two decades! These purchases cost less than 8 euro, and no one else in the house likes them, but it had that feel-good sensation of pampering oneself; my stroll through the supermarket also constituted a bit of ‘me-time’.

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Compare my ABV shopping experience with my regular supermarket shopping. INKA supermarket is five minutes away from my house. My branch is in the thick of the beach-tourism area of Hania. Last Saturday, Loumidis was serving freshly brewed coffee to everyone. I had some with a friend I bumped into. It gave us a chance to catch up.

loumidis coffee inka supermarket agious apostolous hania chania
Loumidis coffee making everyone a fresh brew at INKA. This is an advertising gimmick; it doesn't take place all the time, as it does in the New World supermarket in Wellington. When I went to this supermarket on my last trip in 2004, I often came across little old Greek ladies who remembered me from my years in Wellington, and I had my coffee with them.

The bread was fast running out and it was only 11am. It's popular with the tourists who also help the supermarket make a fortune in pre-sliced cheese and cured meats. As I drove my trolley to the deli counter, I bumped into the priest who had officiated at my wedding. He was doing his shopping with his wife, and they enquired into the condition of my health and family (όλοι καλά, I replied). I needed some chicken, and patiently waited for my turn to come at the meat counter. Some English tourists were pointing to the lambs' heads in the display while they gawked at the butcher hacking away happily over huge flanks of of meat. My turn came, but before I said a word, the butcher asked me: "Where do I know you from?" I couldn't remember seeing him anywhere before, but hopefully that doesn't underestimate my sense of belonging to my adopted hometown.

inka supermarket agious apostolous hania chania
The man on the left in the white shirt was cleaning people's car windows. Life is difficult for many people these days; he accepted my donation without asking specifically for it.

When I'd finished my shopping, I queued up at the till where a cousin was working. She may be a few times removed in the family lineage, but that doesn't stop us from bonding. And as it was such a beautiful spring day in May (warm without being overly hot), I decided to drive down to the beach (one minute away) and take a couple of gorgeous photos of happy people enjoying the spring weather in the middle of the Mediterranean...

golden sand beach near inka supermarket agious apostolous hania chania golden sand beach near inka supermarket agious apostolous hania chania

*Marmite is the UK equivalent of the antipodean Vegemite (which is of course far superior to Marmite, as all good Kiwis will tell you). They taste similar, and bring me closer to Wellington, even though the flight to New Zealand from Hania is 24 hours in duration.

Don't forget to take part in book competition in my previous post!

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19 comments:

  1. Oh dear, Maria, that quiz is still causing heated conversation in our house........
    As the advert goes..'you either love it or hate it' Marmite! We love it but I refuse to buy it here as the price is ridiculous, so friends bring it over occasionally, but when it's gone it's gone!
    I buy what is grown here and in season, except for treats to make the odd exotic meal. I can't understand why someone would move over here and then spend an arm and a leg hunting out and buying produce they would buy in their home country for pennies. I also have aquaintances who order tea bags and other basics from UK. I think they should have stayed there.

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  2. Interesting post Maria! Great to see that there is a little more choice when it comes to Greek supermarkets. As for Vegemite, I never leave home without it!...LOL!

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  3. They're trying to elimate plastic bags here in Canada, and replace them with reusable bags, some of which are cotton, but most are just stiff plasticized fabric. I'm mostly in favour of this move, except that I reuse the old bags as liners for the garbage can in my bathroom, or two carry my lunch to work, and secondly I tend to leave them at home, which is no use to me when I want to pop into a store after work and then end up carrying my purchases out in my arms, because I'm too cheap to pay for the plastic bags!

    I think you shop at the same INKA as my aunt...I went with her once and she started eating the bulk nuts and the Canadian part of me was completely astounded, because that just isn't done over here. Of course, when I was in a bulk food store the other day, the Greek part of me wanted to sample the walnuts they had, to see how fresh they were, so I can't really blame my thea, I guess!

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  4. I do remember ABV being one of the more expensive grocery stores in Patras- but looking rather polished. On the other hand the guy at the Deli at the local Andrikopoulos was not shy to let us know what was fresh AND WHAT WAS NOT. And we would do some small chat with almost every occasion.

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  5. I quite often shop in a small vegetable shop for my produce. I know it is always fresh. For other items it varies depending on what other errands I have that day. Now that the farmers market is ppen I head there first to see what is seasonal and locally grown.

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  6. I have mixed feelings about supermarkets. Sometimes I love them for the choice, sometimes I hate them for the low quality fresh produce they have especially vegetables. However they are still cheeper than the smaller places, at least in Athens and nowadayw I do my grocery shopping at the Laiki. Just don't buy that Camembert again, it is VILE! I have discovered that most of ABV 365 goods are terrible.

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  7. eek - i just bought some ABV feta...

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  8. Things are a little different here in NY ... there aren't really many outdoor farmer's markets but there are what we call indoor fruit and vegetable markets/stores that specialize in fresh produce and continually renew stock as if a laiki anyhow (they also have a few boxed items and groceries, but extremely limited as that's not their focus). Then there are the supermarkets with everything from produce (usually never up to par with the specialty shops), to dairy goods, meats, frozen foods, household essentials, etc., etc.
    So, I end up all over the place: the fruit and vegetable market for produce; the supermarket for things like pasta, milk, eggs, etc.; and even more specialized shops for cheeses and fresh meats.
    It's funny though how we take for granted things like customer service here ... there has been a choice between paper, plastic or re-usable canvas grocery bags for years; there have been moistened wipes for cleaning your hands and paper towels by the meat stations for as long as I can remember; and cured meats such as pastourma or prosciutto are so carefully packaged in almost all stores.

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  9. I guess I'm the only one here that has never tried Marmite/Vegemite yet!
    Your story sounds familiar, Maria. :) A few months ago, a new supermarket, or better, a hypermarket opened in my neighbourhood as well. Passing by, I decided to have a peep inside and to do a bit of price comparison. I was pleasantly surprised to find a far greater selection of organic and eco-aware products than I'd expected. Every now and then I still go back to purchase a thing or two, though most of products -generally speaking- cost more than anywhere else. Oh yes, the place is VERY nice, tidy, the selection is huge and even if I've never felt too enthusiastic about big shopping areas, I like to return there.

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  10. Yeah! At last I can log in! My server has not allowed me to log onto you postings, giving me some weird error message. Anyway ... I'm in! I live in the suburbs of a large city and all of our grocery stores are like this ... HUGE! I get an exercise work out just walking the isles! The good side to them is that I can usually get what I want (gluten free stuff) and that there is a lot of competition between stores, so prices don't jump around too much. Hope all is well! When will summer break start for your kids? Or perhaps it has already! :-)

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  11. I have to disagree with your Marmite/Vegemite conclusions - *everyone* knows Marmite is far far superior ;)

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  12. By & large, the layout of supermarkets is the same everywhere. To shop wisely and healthily, buy goods only from the outside/perimeter rows of the market. Everything else in the middle is junk.

    Enjoy your pastourma!

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  13. Lets' vote..vegemite or marmite? I'll vote for Vegemite any day...

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  14. Yeah Vegemite for me as well. There is something about the smell of Marmite that I cannot stand

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  15. I think you hit the nail on the head when you noted that the supermarket has created an 'experience'. It appears to be the trend with higher-end grocery stores here in the US where the ambience and the environment is just as important as the actual goods for sale. I once wrote a brief paper on how the physical space of a store is meant to evoke a certain standard so that the shopper is encouraged to buy based on need, not of the actual items but rather to signal something about themselves - affluence, sophistication, perhaps? It seems akin to buying a souvenir when traveling - you can't leave without some token of the 'experience'!

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  16. My nearest supermarket is 16 miles away, and is pretty much the only show in town. Beautiful photos of the beach. Living in a landlocked state, I do so miss the ocean.

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  17. The Holy Father gone to Turkey to redeem and consecrate the Greeks, so don't need no more soviet temples. Don't need no gyro blimpie Bart when got a regular Pope without the diner attitude. My pop kept hitting momma with a skillet on the head. Friends ended up in the hospital after their pop beat them. Pops got drunk and ruined my first car. Killed two cats and a dog, thrown out the window. Neighbor drowned the canaries in ouzo, lit, ate them. Ma overdid whip so she could give less pie. All our stuff came pilfered, with logos. Greeks overcook all meat so no one knows is bad. Another banned tenants flushing toilet paper. Waiters inpune sanitation because "dirty is natural and healthy." Priests just answered "behave, respect, tradition!" Now priest comes "no intercommunion!" Where was he when we needed him to protect us from our crazy parents? Don't sell me "educated Greeks" because we know all them Trojan Horse cheated on the exams. Besides it's just TV repair school. Remember all those jailed old disco Greeks, tax cheats to "protest" Jerome Ford stopping the Trojan Horse in Chyprious? We can't get good jobs because no one trusts Greeks, because of Trojan Horse. They always faked reading Greek. That's why we borrowed regular Catholic books instead of read Greek. Sure, we sacrifice to Greek myths three times a year to please yiayia, and she's nun the wiser when we go to regular Catholic Mass on Sundays when she bummed from bouzaki dances. Ain't need no more Bart, just the regular Pope. That's why we all married regular Catholic when we grew up. So they can trust us.

    Greek Altar Boy Crib Sheet: The most common incantation in the Greek Liturgy is "Gyro Lays On" which is to bless the slapping of meat on gyros a shadow set of altar boys are making in the basement. The next most common is "Docks apartheid, go carts for nobody" to bless the racial segreagation of Greek ships, which were the primary vehicle for bringing slaves to America. They also say "To rhapsody the duckies, shoot them, shoot them some more" and "Socks on we must go that not just egg nog sold by garlic Louie" Their lordie prayer is really a witches brew: "Butter lemon on the horizon against dominance, alter the fasolia sou, general tomatoes, eastern horizons, obtuse geese, does the mean simmering, tuna tuna is monitors in pussing, coffee serve offering man, eastern offer toffee latte, alter geese, obtuse boners"

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  18. charlie
    although i'm not sure what to make of your fictional sounding prose, i've kept your comment, as it just might be an angle i want to explore in my future writing...

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