Officials in Iran Chamber of Guilds have blamed the excessive number of retail outlets per household on weak manufacturing sector. Recently, the ICG chairman Ali Fazeli estimated that on average there is one retail outlet for seven households in Iran, while In Europe, there is one for 37 households, Eghtesad News reported. According to ICG secretary general Ahmad Karimi Esfahani, the phenomenon has become the root cause of many economic problems including but not limited to the “rising prices” and “excessive imports”. As a remedy, the official called on the government to review its taxation programs to prevent the flow of workforce into the retail sector.
