The Portuguese retail sector saw a 3.4% growth in sales in 2018, to €20.9 billion, according to the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED).
Non-food retail grew 4.3% compared to 2017, with a total sales volume of €8.5 billion, while food retail sales increased by 2.8%, to €12.4 billion.
In the food segment, the top three categories were frozen food (6.1%), perishables/snacks (4.1%) and grocery (4.0%).
Sales of dairy products grew by 3.2%, while beverage saw a 3.1% growth.
Growth Drivers
Promotions accounted for 46.4% of food retail sales, up from the previous year’s figure of 45%.
Hypermarkets and supermarkets accounted for 26.3% and 49.8% (+0.2% in 2017) sales respectively, while discounters saw their share declining from 15.4% to 15.2%.
The market share of private labels increased from 33.4% to 33.6%, while manufacturers' brands accounted for 66.4% of sales.
Promotions accounted for €3.5 billion in sales, with almost half of the Portuguese consumers actively seeking promotions, and one third choosing their products based on promotions, a survey by Nielsen revealed.
However, other factors also influence consumers' purchasing decisions.
Healthy Food
In Portugal, 70% of shoppers look for healthy food, with two thirds willing to pay more for better quality.
Household spending on food increased by 3.1%, sales of home cleaning products were up 2.9%, beverage sales grew 2.8%, while expenses on personal hygiene products increased by 1.3%.
Last year, 165 food retail outlets opened in Portugal, according to the Sale Index 2019 of Marktest Consulting.
Lisbon was the district with the highest number of new stores (51), followed by Leiria and Setúbal (18 each) and Évora (15).
Sonae, Jerónimo Martins, Lidl, and Os Mosqueteiros invested around €350 million in new openings and refurbishments.
Investments
For 2019, retail chains are expected to invest more than €300 million, reports Dinheiro Vivo.
Since the beginning of the year, Sonae MC inaugurated five new Continente stores.
In the period 2019-2021, it plans to open around 50-60 Continente Bom Dia stores, 4-8 Continente Modelo stores, and around 150 adjacent format stores.
Jerónimo Martins, which expects to invest around €120 million in Portugal, plans to launch 10 new Pingo Doce stores, of which two have already opened).
Lidl invested around €8 million to open a new store during the first-quarter of 2019 in Boliqueime in Algarve) and Cascais-Tires.
Os Mosqueteiros group aims to open about 15 stores, doubling the investment made in 2018, to around €60 million.
Auchan Retail will continue to bet on the ultra-proximity format and plans to open another hypermarket.
In July, Spanish retailer Mercadona will open the first of its 10 stores in Canidelo in Portugal.
© 2019 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.
