HUNGARY: Domestic supermarkets lose ground to German chains | Progresiv

Foreign, particularly Germany-based discount supermarkets are expanding at a much faster rate on the Hungarian market than domestic chains, with Aldi, Penny Market and Lidl having been the most active this year in terms of store openings, according to a report today by online business news source vg.hu. The Hungarian subsidiary of German discount chain Aldi will have opened a total of 12 new stores in Hungary by the end of the year, making it the most active in the country this year in this respect. In October, Aldi had a total of 113 stores open in the country.

German peer Penny Market had a total of 207 stores in Hungary by the end of October, while at the end of last year it had only 200, according to the paper. Penny Market also laid the cornerstone for a 7.7 billion forints (24.4 million euros) logistics base in Veszprém, its third in Hungary, in November, Hungarian news agency MTI recalled.

The Hungarian subsidiary of Lidl opened only one store in Hungary this year, though it refurbished 17 of its 165 stores in the country.

While the market share of foreign discount supermarkets keeps expanding in Hungary, locally owned ones are losing ground, according to vg.hu. In the period 2013-2015, Hungarian discount supermarkets CBA, Coop and Reál saw the closure of a combined 500 stores, the paper added. (www.bbj.hu)