When discussing European food retail today, it's wise to use the term market with caution. Europe isn't a uniform playing field dominated by a few global giants. Instead, it's a mosaic of national quirks, local leaders, and ingrained shopping habits. This complexity makes Europe both challenging and resilient. The fragmented structure isn't inefficient; it's a reflection of closeness to customers. Nowhere else is the food trade so intertwined with culture, daily life, and tru

Discount Retail Chain Lidl UK has reported a 'record-breaking' Christmas with sales and customer numbers climbing. Lidl posted sales up 10% overall year-on-year, as turnover reached £1.1 bn, in the four weeks to Christmas Eve. Shopper numbers rose 8% to approx. 51 million. Lidl GB CEO Ryan McDonnell said: '2025 was a record-breaking Christmas for Lidl, with more customers choosing to shop with us than ever before. By continuing to invest in low prices and champion British foo

Discount Retail Chain BİM Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. (listed BIST: BIMAS) has decided to apply for permission to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency for the establishment of a traditional participation bank. According to the statement made by BİM to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), a strategic roadmap has been determined for the financial subsidiary planned to be established. As a result of the feasibility studies initiated on the digital participation bank in O

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Netherlands is getting back on its feet in 2025 after a few tough years. Market share and customer appreciation are on the rise. 'Aldi Netherlands is the fastest growing supermarket this year.' Aldi is the big winner in the first quarter of 2025. According to the strong end of last year, the discounter continued in the first quarter of this year. The supermarket chain posted an index of 118 in the first three months. "Aldi is growing in customers (5

"The Grocer soon going to publish our next trade report (for Q3). We’re just looking at the data for the first couple of months of that. And from what we can see so far, we’re still seeing that persistent increase to the UK.” The top five product categories include fish, poultry, vegetables, confectionery and prepared foods. And some of the biggest increases are soft drinks, spirits, protein concentrates, animal fats and oils. So, why is it happening? What signs are there tha

Discount Retail Chain Netto Marken-Discount, owned by EDEKA, is once again Central Germany's most popular discounter for the 9th time in a row. Netto Marken-Discount remains the first choice for customers in Central Germany: In the current Central German Brand Study, the food retailer was voted the most popular discounter in Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt for the ninth time in a row and thus once again successfully prevailed against competitors. The study, which is condu

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Netherlands has published its new sustainability report for 2024–2025 . Lidl publishes a sustainability report every year in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In these reports, it shares the progress on our sustainability goals. In it, the supermarket chain announces that it is fully committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. The targets for 2030 and 2034 have also been further tightened. Further highlights are:

Discount Retail Chain Lidl's mother company Schwarz Group and Deutsche Telekom (DT), are on the verge of launching a project that could change Europe's digital landscape forever. According to a report in the Handelsblatt, talks are already well advanced about a joint "AI Factory", another mega data center that could make Germany a real AI hotspot. A Canadian financial investor could also get on board and give the project additional billions of dollars. The goal is clear: to g

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Spain has added more than half a million new shoppers in the last year. The company has recorded an 8% increase in the number of customers between June 2024 and June 2025. In addition, the supermarket chain has today exceeded 480 stores in Spain with the inauguration that takes place today in the Alicante municipality of Finestrat, the second store in the town. Alicante is a key province for Aldi, where it already has more than 40 supermarkets. The

Discount Retail Chain Rema1000 made three humorous television commercials for Rema1000, a Norwegian discount supermarket chain and market leading supermarket chain with 868 stores in Norway, in 1994 with Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson). These ads were specifically created for the Scandinavian market and highlight Rema1000's low prices through Mr. Bean's signature slapstick comedy. They were produced during a transitional period for the character, shortly before the Mr. Bean TV seri

New NielsenIQ data for PLMA’s 2025 International Private Label Market Report 𝗤𝟯 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 shows steady growth for private label across Europe. Private label share across 17 tracked countries has risen to 38.7 %, +0.28 % up vs. the same period last year. 12 of the 17 markets increased their private label share 12 markets now exceed 30% private label share 8 markets exceed 40%, with Switzerland leading more than 52.3% Top-growing markets: Spain (+1.1) | Austria (+0.7) | Ne

Discount Retail Chain Die Grenze will open its first branch in Amsterdam this week. With 50 new branches in five years, Actionkiller Die Grenze is the fastest growing retail chain in the Netherlands and the pride of Twente. "I can't eat all that money on my own. I'd rather put it in the business," says founder Bert Hesselink. The branch in Amsterdam is the eightieth of the Twente bargain chain, one of the few bright spots in the gloomy shopping landscape . With 50 new branche

Discount Retail Chain Biedronka Poland gains 20 bps in share and improves margins despite rising wages and weak demand. After Carrefour's departure from Poland, Jerónimo Martins is fulfilling what we explained a month ago, to become strong in Poland. Specifically, the Portuguese distribution chain recorded an impressive 2.5% growth in EBITDA in the third quarter, driven mainly by the like-for-like sales margin in Poland. In this sense, the brand under which Jerónimo operates

Discount Retail Chain Lidl's owner, Schwarz, through its IT and digital division, Digits, this week took the first step towards a billionaire investment to build its own data center. According to the announcement, the company will invest 11 billion euros to build a state-of-the-art infrastructure in Lubbenau, in Brandenburg. This will be one of the most advanced centres of its kind in Europe. The first phase of the "Schwarz Digits Data Center", consisting of three modules, is

Discount Retail Chain Lidl's parent company the Schwarz Group announced plans for a long-term partnership with Google. The strategic partnership will cover major dimensions for secure and sovereign digital transformation, including best-in-class collaboration and productivity solutions and advanced cyber security offerings in Germany and Europe. “For future viability in the digital age, it is essential to find partners who are truly willing to shape digitization together,” sa

Discount Variety Retail Chain Action is expanding at a rapid pace in Germany. Internal documents show ambitious profit targets and how Action became a money-printing machine for the investor 3i. Action now operates 3190 stores in 14 European countries. The non-food discounter is expanding at a rapid pace. Year after year, Action increased its turnover to almost 14 billion euros (2024), conquering new countries again and again, most recently Switzerland, Romania and Portugal.

Discount Retail Chain Lidl France buys 19 Auchan stores. The French Competition Authority has just validated Lidl's acquisition of 19 Auchan stores. The German discounter had therefore positioned itself to buy the Auchan stores. To confirm this acquisition, it was necessary to wait for the validation of the transaction by the Competition Authority. It was indeed required to ensure that these store acquisitions did not reduce price competition and local consumer choice. The

Discount Retail Chain Lidl strengthened its profitability despite slowing sales growth. The discounter's international operations increased the net margin to 2.4% and achieved a record net profit of €2.3 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year. The increase in gross margin and the reduction in debt offset the pressure caused by higher labour and financing costs. Central and South-Eastern Europe became Lidl's most profitable region, generating almost half of the total profit.