Discount Channel to Add €34 Billion to European Grocery Retail Market
The discount channel accounts for 43% of retail growth across Europe and will add €34 billion in sales from 2020 to 2022, according to new research from IGD – insight and foresight providers for global grocery retail. The discount channel will be the major contributor to growth to 2022, with leading discounters – Lidl and Aldi – adding more sales than most major European retailers.
Lidl is expected to see seven of its operations grow by more than €900m each in the next couple of years. The discounter will become the first European retailer to generate a turnover of more than €100 billin; this figure could be hit in 2021 results.
Jon Wright, Head of EMEA, IGD said: “Discount is the second-largest and fastest-growing grocery retail channel in Europe. Whilst it has been consistently gaining share in recent years, shoppers’ increased focus on value, accelerated by COVID-19 and the advancement of developing markets in Eastern Europe, will see the channel begin to take centre stage across the region.”
Amongst the fastest growing discounters, Russian Pyaterohcka (X5 Retail Group) is expected to account for more than 15% of the region’s channel growth. In France, additional sales for Lidl are expected to outrank Germany, driven by fast growth and a limited number of direct competitors. For Aldi South, the UK is expected to become a major contributor to the group’s growth.
Maxime Delacour, Senior Retail Analyst at IGD, who leads on discount research, said: “While the channel’s growth is slowing in several mature markets such as Germany and the Netherlands, other countries, such as Turkey, Russia, Poland and Romania are expected to post double-digit growth, creating new opportunities for food and drink suppliers.
“In addition to the big players, there are several market-leading small to medium-size operators, such as Mercadona, Biedronka and several Nordic discounters. These ‘local leaders’ play a crucial role in their regional markets, but also to the growth opportunities in the channel as a whole.”
