Markets - Revista F&H

Focal Point
The German discount
reaches its peak
THE DISCOUNT SHOWS THEIR FIRST CRACKS AND REACTS OUT OF THE
PRICE FACTOR DUE TO THE MOVEMENT OF SUPER/HYPER, THAT RE-
TRIEVES THE SHARE OF THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY.
By Rafael Losilla
-Special envoy to Germany-
It was in 2008-2009. The market share
of german discounts -Aldi, Lidl, Netto
and Penny Markt- reached a market
share of 54 percent in fruits and vegetables.
From then, discounts have
lost market share and today have a
53.3 percent in fruits and a 53.7 percent
in vegetables, according to the
updated data of Agrarmarkt Informations
(AMI).
For this reason, Lidl and Netto have
improved its format and shelves without
losing the price factor, the key
in “the 42 percent of Germans who
take into account the price of products
when they do the shopping in a
supermaket or in another”, says Francisco
Contreras, Marketing manager
of Edeka.
Aldi, the leading food chain in the
sales of fruit and vegetables in Germany,
with a market share of 19 percent,
is the only one that has not had changes.
Its managers do not see the need
for changes and the only proposal has
been the homogenization of the cardboard
boxes, differentiating the differ-
ent types of vegetables and fruits.
Netto and Lidl. With the purchase of
Netto by Edeka there was a different
situation. Netto became the discount
branch of Edeka.
Edeka committed with a discount
which had shelves with fruits at the
entrance to the shops, greater number
of references, less volume by reference
and a difference between the ‘commodity’
product and the promotion
merchandise.
The food chain has not publicized
its results after two years of the pur-
Discount
Supermarket
Hypermarket
Grocery
chase, but the most recent results of
GfK makes Netto as the only discount
which has gained market share in Germany.
Lidl changed its strategy two years
ago. The firm increased more than a
metro its shelf of fruits and vegetables
and overcame the 60 fruit and vegetable
products compared to 50 fruit and
vegetable products of Aldi.
The ‘gurus’ of the food suply chain
saw that Lidl moved away from ‘hard
discount’ and committed to middle
class that in 2010 approached to supermarkets
and hypermarkets with
Market share for fresh fruit in GerMany
Source: AMI.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
53,5% 54,3% 54,3% 54,0% 53,3%
19,5% 18,9% 19,1% 20,1% 19,9%
14,9% 14,9% 14,7% 15,0% 15,3%
12,1% 11,9% 11,9% 10,9% 11,5%
F&H International • April 2013
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