Why did sales go up in the first 4 Months of 2019?

Thursday, August 8, 2019

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Nielsen statistics uncover that between the beginning of the year and May 5, sales rose by 6% compared to the same quarter of 2019. Food and beverages in particular showed the strongest upward trend among all FMCGs, with +5.1%.

High-level players in the industry, commenting on the particularly strong performance of the sector this year, attribute it to five key reasons:

The first reason is related to high demand during this year’s Week before Easter. Nielsen figures show that in fact, total retail sales between April 22nd and 27th compared to the Great Week of 2018 (April 9 to April 14) were up 8.8%. In particular, fresh and non-standard foods registered double-digit growth rates of 12.2%, while sales of fast-food consumer goods overall increased by 7%. Interestingly, the industry’s sales in the week after Resurrection, compared with the same period last year, also increased by 4%, although this week was less than a business day due to the 1st of May holiday.

The second reason relates to the performance of the tourism activity. According to relevant data, it appears that during the first quarter of the year, overall revenues from international tourism in the country increased by 37.2% compared to the same period last year. This trend, as expected, will continue throughout the summer.

The third reason relates to the slow but steady decline in unemployment and the improvement of the overall market climate. Indeed, the slow decline in the unemployment rate compared to previous years, reflects the trend of new incomes, which revitalize turnover first of all in the fast-moving daily commodities. At the same time, the citizens, realizing that the history of the memorandums in their most binding version is over, are rejuvenating and the improvement of their psychological mood is also reflected in the market movement.

Intra-Industry reasons

The fourth reason relates to the traction power of the sector’s three giant networks following the acquisitions of the last three years - Sklavenitis, Metro and Masoutis, which, apart from their competition amongst them, are in a better position to compete with other chains, reducing turnover market shares from the small independent market, that is, neighborhood stores, thereby contributing to the overall increase in the sector’s revenue. In the same direction, too, are the new stores, which do not stop being created by the powerful organized retailers throughout Greece.

Finally, the fifth reason relates to the potential opening up of supermarket chains to new product categories, in anticipation of increased consumer interest in them. Such are the categories of ready-cooked food or packaged ready salad, which contribute to the industry’s overall revenue by subtracting sales from regional rather than supermarkets’ industy (e.g., catering). Another category of products that is of great interest to supermarkets is the wide range of healthy foods, which, according to European statistics, show a considerably growing demand.