At BCCI preparations are underway for marking the 200th anniversary of the first trade association in Bulgaria
At BCCI a meeting was held with the President of the Association for Modern Trade and Managing Director of “Metro Cash & Carry Bulgaria” EOOD Emiliyan Abadzhiev. The occasion for the meeting was BCCI’s initiative to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first trade association in Bulgaria – the association of grocers founded in 1812. This would be a great occasion to remind that trade is an engine of growth and a bridge connecting manufacturers and consumers, and is essential for competitiveness as a factor of development.
Tsvetan Simeonov emphasized that consumers and their associations worldwide consider store chains as their closest allies, maintaining affordable prices for goods with controlled quality and traceable origin. Mr. Abadzhiev said that transparent trade adhering to the rules allows to preserve the socio-economic structure of neighbourhoods and regions. The parties agreed that introducing global standards (GS1) is a good practice which should also be adopted by smaller retailers and brought closer to the consumers, so that they get more protection, security and the right to informed choice.
Emiliyan Abadzhiev and Tsvetan Simeonov discussed the latest developments of the issue concerning the monitoring of prices for end-users in August by the state. Society needs to be better informed about the role of store chains as having the most modern methods of trade. The parties also agreed on the idea that in a market economy no way should be given to non-market methods because this stimulates, as has been ascertained by BCCI, the practice for tax and other control bodies to audit only transparent companies instead of combating the gray sector of economy or finding companies that do not declare their turnover and avoid taxes.
GS1* - is a leading global organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve efficiency and visibility in supply and demand chains globally and across sectors. The GS1 system of standards is the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world.
GS1 Bulgaria provides consultations for free at the BCCI and on-line.