The sales in the modern retail units will exceed EUR 11 billion this year, according to data published by the market research firm Euromonitor.

In the last decade, the sales in supermarkets and hypermarkets more than doubled in Romania. They rose from EUR 5.2 billion in 2008 to an estimated EUR 11.1 billion this year, reports local Ziarul Financiar.

The local market has had the most spectacular evolution in the region. In countries such as Hungary or the Czech Republic the sector growth hasn’t exceeded 20% during this period.

In Germany, the modern retail has increased by 4% between 2008 and 2017. However, the German market has already reached a level of maturity, so the growth is slower. The modern retail of Czech Republic and Hungary also has a slower growth pace, because the countries are located closer to the Western Europe and they have a lower share of the population living in villages.

In some of these countries, the modern retail has reached a market share of over 80%. In Romania, the share of modern retail in the overall retail sales has barely exceeded 60%. The rest is still controlled by small entrepreneurs in the traditional retail. Romania will also follow this trend.

editor@romania-insider.com