I am always getting those 'million dollar ideas' for new businesses to open in Larnaca, and if I actually had the guts / could be bothered to follow through, I might have been a millionaire by now. But it's not just a lack of burning ambition that is stopping me, I also know that if I do happen to hit the bulls-eye with the winning idea, within a month there will be 20 more businesses the same, and they would probably all open up right next door to me too!
This is a problem we have. Someone will do the research, the work and put in all the effort to find something that can succeed. They open, they do succeed, but the lifespan of their great idea is then cut short by the copycats who decide to follow the leader and open the exact same business.
Larnaca is not a big town; therefore it cannot sustain 20 of the same great idea. For example, on Faneromeni, there is a florist/nursery that has been open there for as long as I can remember. For some reason, which I cannot fathom, in recent years another two florists have opened opposite. One florist in the area could make a decent living. Putting three in a cluster means that they will all suffer as the business of the area will be split three ways, or the lion's share will go to one. What sense does it make to open next to the same business? What on earth is the logic of the newcomers? Eventually, all three will close down.
It's the same for everything from clothes to frozen yogurt. Recently, a new coffeehouse from Greece has opened in multiple locations. The locations it has chosen are clever; commercial streets of office blocks and some retail outlets, but not in the town centre or seafront where it is most popular to open a coffeehouse. They are rammed! They hit the nail on the head that trendy cafés in trendy locations are for weekends and evenings only and that during the daily grind, people working in offices and shops want a coffee fix. It is a logical idea and you will find this formula in all cities, but for some reason, Larnaca was focused on trendy areas only, until now. Naturally, another coffee chain is starting to open on the same streets. Eventually, some of the locations – of either one or both franchises - will have to close.
The lifespan for restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs is also short. There is a mad rush to go somewhere new, which quickly dissipates and there are very few establishments that have staying power and can claim to have been open for more than 5-10 years.
Whilst the financial crisis has seen a lot of new closures, we were always prone to this phenomenon of open-shut-quickly and I guess we are kind of immune to it now as a town. But I will not be sharing my million-dollar idea with anyone. As long as I can still get my frozen yogurt fix (a trend that left years ago but has now thankfully come back), then let them get on with it!
First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 30/04/14
