The turnover of food retailers in Romania reached RON 93 billion (€18.9 billion) in 2021, up by 11.7% on 2020 and by 48% over 2007, new data has found.
The analysis of the Romanian retail market by KeysFin and RetailZoom projected that food retail sales could exceed RON 108 billion (€21.9 billion) for full-year 2022, once the final figures are available, despite the backdrop of increased inflation.
Net profit among Romanian food retailers amounted to RON 3.6 billion (€730.2 million) in 2021, the data showed.
Local And Proximity Stores
Although local trade has been decreasing in recent years in the country, sales shares have increased among regional retail chains and large independent stores, the study noted.
The contribution of local chains and supermarkets (LKA) accounts for approximately 10% of total national food retail sales.
The proximity retail channel, which is increasingly competing with international retail networks, comprises more than 400 companies, managing around 2,040 stores.
The local trade, represented by small, traditional stores is much wider, with about 31,600 companies operating an estimated 42,000 stores across all formats.
Sales among LKA stores in 2022 grew 11.6% in value compared to 2021, below the average inflation rate, while sales volume decreased by 1.6%.
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Romania
Shopping Baskets
The top 20 product categories in the shopping baskets of Romanian consumers include raw meat (fresh and frozen), beer, carbonated soft drinks, coffee, bottled water, milk and yoghurts, and wines.
According to the data from the National Institute of Statistics, food prices in March 2023 increased by 21.6% compared to the same month in 2022.
Among product categories, the highest increases were registered for sugar (61%), butter (38%), potatoes (36.5%) and eggs (34%).
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
