‘Eleftherios Venizelos was one of our customers’
Eftychios Alexandrakis never misses a day, even though his daughter Katerina has taken over the store (the fourth generation to do so) and 67 years have passed since he first started working, when still a student, next to his father to learn the secrets of the trade. His face reveals the changes that have occurred on the historical street. It is an inseparable part of him. «We opened in 1860, when Ermou Street started at Syntagma Square and ended at Kapnikarea. Our clients were Eleftherios Venizelos, Marika Kotopouli and Vasso Manolidou, among others. We became known for woolen underwear imported from England, which was of exquisite quality. After the war, when I took over the enterprise, we started to bring in more fashionable items, always of excellent quality. If we are still on Ermou, it is because we have been prudent in our management. We adjusted to the changes and preferred to take small steady steps instead of great leaps.» At the back of the four-story shop, Alexandrakis spends part of the day in his office with his customers when he’s not at the front. «Immobility tires me, not the work,» he said, showing me the sofa where he sometimes rests in the afternoon. Although he is nostalgic for the past he admits that it is better today. «With the pedestrianization of Ermou, the street became more accessible although there was opposition. I have the impression that the level has dropped. I remember the ladies used to take more care of their dress and appearance.» Then the sales assistants were exclusively male. «We first hired women as cashiers 50 years ago. Now they outnumber the men and rightly so. If you chance on a good sales assistant she will be much better than a man in the same position.»
