Croatian retail giant Konzum is fast losing ground to discounter rivals Lidl and Kaufland, the Agrokor-owned group's former chairman has written on his blog.
According to Ivica Todorić, citing Croatian retail market data prepared by research company GfK, Konzum's share in the second quarter of the year stood at 19.3%, down from 23.2% in Q4 2016.
At the same time, Lidl has increased its share to 11.7%, from 10.2%, while Kaufland has risen to 9.2% share, from 8.9%.
Todorić stated that this means that Schwarz Group, which operates the Lidl and Kaufland banners, is now the biggest retailer in Croatia by market share.
Writing on www.ivicatodoric.hr, Todorić said that since the introduction of Agrokor's Extraordinary Administration, the turnover of the business has dropped significantly, a process that has led to a 'catastrophic breakdown' in Konzum's values.
He said that while the Konzum business posted more than HRK 10.6 billion (€1.4 billion) worth of turnover in 2016, that is now in danger of dropping to HRK 6 billion in the years to come.
Market Leadership
However, a report by daily Poslovni Dnevnik indicates that, despite the challenges at parent company Agrokor and the closure of around 80 stores, Konzum remains the market leader in Croatia, with a turnover of HRK 9.1 billion (€1.2 billion) in 2017, down 11% year-on-year.
The company has since reported a 6% growth in the first half of 2018.
Market research suggests Konzum lost 3% of its market share in 2017, ending the year with 22.4%. This is still more than the combined share of its two biggest rivals.
Lidl grew by 15% last year to HRK 4.64 billion (€627.8 million), while Kaufland (also part of Schwarz Group) saw 7% revenue growth to HRK 3.6 billion (€484.5 million).
Plodine is the third biggest player with a revenue of HRK 4.24 billion (€578 million).
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
