Supermarkets: Abuzz with deals

2022 is expected to be a special and interesting year, as concerns developments for the supermarket sector, which begins with the “Battle of Crete”.

The northern Helladic chain Diamantis Masoutis is preparing to enter the market of the big island, which is considered anything but as stroll, collaborating with the local chain Supply and Consumer Cooperative of Limited Liability of Consumers of Crete (SYN.KA).

The official announcements for the deal are expected within the day. Yesterday, during the general assembly of SYN.KA, the secession of the wholesale and retail trade sector and the creation of a new corporate scheme with the name “SYN.KA of Crete Supermarkets SA” was voted in favor.

The participation of both parties in the new company will be equal. As the vice president of the Cooperative, Dimitris Alexakis, characteristically stated, the new company will remain in Chania.

The Cooperative will have the management and the majority in the board of directors. According to the separation plan, 20 properties will be transferred to the new company, mainly plots and agricultural plots in Crete and Tinos, while the SYN.KA brand will remain in the Cretan market.

According to Mr. Alexakis, with the new funds that will enter, which will be multiples of the value of the shares of the new company, the Cooperative can develop into the largest chain on Crete, while for the producers who cooperate with SYN.KA there will be an improvement in the situation as they will be able to sell to a larger consumer group.

Of course, in order for the agreement to proceed, it will also need the approval of the Competition Commission.

Second player

With a share of around 20% in the Cretan market, SYN.KA, which is designing a new supermarket in Livadia and possibly another store in Rethymno, is the second largest player on the island. Founded in 1979, by 482 founding members. In 2014 it acquired the Vidalis chain and expanded to the Cyclades, Chios and Kalymnos, and in 2020 the Dimitra – Markato chain in Corfu.

Today it has a total of 74 stores. Of these, 37 are located in Crete, 20 in Corfu, while 13 cater to the Cyclades islands, in Milos, Paros, Naxos, Syros, Santorini and Tinos. It also has 2 stores in Chios and Kalymnos.

Shares and the Carrefour factor

While after the impending agreement between the Northern Greeks and the Cretans, in Chania, the seat of SYN.KA, the scenarios of Masouti – AB Vassilopoulos coexistence were “sunk”, which had returned to the fore in recent months, through a debut in the wider area of ​​Heraklion of the French supermarket chain, Carrefour, which returns to Greece through “Retail & More” of the Nikolaos Th. Vardinogiannis group.

The French group will return before the summer through the medium-sized “Carrefour Market” stores and the smaller “Carrefour Express”, which belong to the category of neighborhood stores.

The area of ​​Heraklion is dominated by the Chalkiadakis chain, a subsidiary of Sklavenitis by 60%. The latter operates in Crete with 16 stores under the “Sklavenitis” brand. AB Vassilopoulos, Bazaar and ANEDIK Kritikos are also present in the Cretan market.

Sklavenitis, the bet of AB and the battle for 4th place

However, it is not only the balances in the “difficult” Cretan market that change. SYN.KA’s partnership with Masoutis creating a group with a turnover of 1.1 billion. euro, which is positioned in 4th place in the top10 of supermarket chains, or the 5th if the performance of the discount chain Lidl is taken into account.

Masoutis with 333 stores – of which 22 are ‘cash & carry’ – and 882 million euros turnover in 2020 has no presence in Crete or Corfu, while in the Cyclades it has only 3 stores in Andros. It has 2 stores in Chios.

SYN.KA’s turnover in 2020 amounted to 186.5 million euros and its pre-tax profits to 752,000 euros.

With this turnover dynamic, the new group is quite close to the METRO of the Panteliadis family, whose turnover reached 1.33 billion euros in 2020.

The head of the company, Aristotelis Panteliadis has stated that he will take advantage of any opportunity presented, but does not base the development of the company on acquisitions.

Both Masoutis and METRO had an increased turnover in 2020, but their sales growth rate was lower than the market average.

The ELOMAS shopping group headed by Dimitris Alexakis, vice-president of SYN.KA, which has been weakened in recent years, may have a new role in the emerging landscape.

At the same time, the industry is waiting for the reaction of second ranking player AB Vassilopoulos, after the resignation of Mr. Vassilis Stavros.

At Ahold Delhaize’s subsidiary within the walls for this transitional period is Mr. Jesper Lauridsen, Chief Operations Officer of Ahold Delhaize in the region of South East Europe.

AB’s big bet for the next day is to expand its market share, which is said to be losing money.

Pente, which is in the process of creating the first Galaxias mall in Salamina, will not be left out of this “dance” of developments either. The chain that at the end of 2020 proceeded to the acquisition of the northern Helladic chain OLLA, seems to maintain full interest in growth through acquisitions.

Meanwhile, in this environment, and as sales may decline negatively throughout the year, as exorbitant energy costs have eroded family budgets, smaller chains with little or no profitability are under significant pressure, looking for, according to market players, strong allies.

The new data do not leave indifferent even the leader of the industry, Sklavenitis. Although, having the luxury of a great “distance” from the rest that make up the top five, it maintains the advantage of movements, changes in consumer behavior, price increases by suppliers and the intensification of competition leads to adjustments of its business practice, in order to protect the loyalty of its customers, but also its profits.