Marinopoulos

Large supermarket companies are now fighting the battle for greater market shares in hypermarkets, as contrary to forecasts that this category would suffer due to inflationary pressures, it is growing at a much higher rate than the overall growth in the sector.

Leading supermarket chain Sklavenitis is entering the market of online commerce with the acquisition of the caremarket.gr website.

The retailer, that grew into the largest market player with the acquisition of defunct rival Marinopoulos in 2017-2018, has finally broken into the digital market of retailing with the acquisition of the online sales service from Yoda SA.

The supermarket sector anticipates a year of developments in 2020, after fierce competition in 2019 that saw turnover rise 3.2 percent from 2018.

Over half a million customers shop at supermarkets belonging to the Sklavenitis chain every day, and the group posted a 12.9 percent annual increase in turnover last year.

As we shuffle toward elections in the familiar fog of scandals, insults, threats and lies, the picture of the real economy ought to wake politicians and citizens to the magnitude of the country's problems. Without investments, without substantial reforms, without solving chronic problems, the economy will not escape the quagmire. We may even slip back into recession.

Supermarkets sales have been running out of steam since June, confirming concerns that Greece's exit from the bailout program would not automatically mean a rise in demand, particularly since there has been no increase to disposable incomes.

Sklavenitis, the leading Greek supermarket chain, is planning to open a number of store where the emphasis will be on fresh products while another project foresees the showcasing of small Greek producers.

Leading supermarket chain AB Vassilopoulos on Thursday reported a 3 percent decline in turnover last year, to 2.1 billion euros from 2.17 billion in 2016.

The drop was attributed to continuing price and offers campaigns and the shifts in the sector that last year saw the reopening of the former Marinopoulos stores under the Sklavenitis brand.

Greece's supermarket sector posted an increase in turnover in 2017, albeit small, marking the first annual rise since 2010, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen.

Sales at Greek supermarkets dipped 1 percent in the first half of the year, data compiled by the IRI research company have revealed, pointing to the smallest decrease since 2015 and a significant improvement from the 8.8 percent drop recorded in the first half of 2016 - attributed in part to the collapse of the Marinopoulos chain.