The German fashion retailer Orsay is reportedly leaving the the Czech and Slovak markets. Forbes writes that the company will sell off its assets and leave the market. “I can confirm that Orsay is in the final phase of negotiations over the sale of its stores in Czechia and Slovakia,” said an anonymous source with knowledge of the negotiations. “If that doesn’t work, Orsay will enter insolvency here and close its shops. Orsay has been making over CZK 1 billion annually from the 90 shops it operates in the two markets. It entered the Czecho Slovak market a quarter century ago.
There are still towns in the Czech Republic where even with the new interest rates, you’d pay the same to rent a flat as you would to own it. In Olomouc, for example, the rent for a one-room study is likely to cost CZK 9,500. The monthly installment on a 90% mortgage (for 30 years, at 5.97%) would be around CZK 2,000 more. In Ostrava, you’d find similar numbers. But things change in Brno, where the average mortgage will cost around double what it would cost to rent the same property. These fascinating numbers are from a study by UlovDomov.cz, led by Michal Hrbaty. He warns that in Prague, the situation is even more extreme, with mortgages now going for up to 2.5 times the standard rent. He gave the example of a 2-room flat with a small kitchen, where the average rent would come to CZK 15,500. Those who choose to buy could pay up to CZK 46,000 per month. “That’s of course a price that not everyone can afford,” he told the Czech News Service.
Accolade chairman Milan Kratina confirmed that he’s interested in taking a leadership role in the Czech Football Association. He told Hospodářské noviny he’d put his name on the list of candidates for vice chaiman. Kratina has been active as a sponsor of Slavia Prague and has become increasingly vocal about the need to cleanse the sport’s reputation at all levels. “My ambition is to renew people’s trust in sport,” said the man Forbes lists as the 47th richest Czech. “To finish the clean-up of the referee environment and make a return to fair decision making.” He told HN that following a series of scandals, Czech football needs serious reforms to make it more transparent if it wants to become attractive to a wider range of sponsors, such as banks. He accused the current batch of functionaries running the sport of being interested primarily in which planes they fly to tournaments in and the size of their bonuses.
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