Coop achieved sales of 860 billion in 2024

The COOP Economic Group increased its turnover by about 4 percent last year, thus achieving sales of 860 billion forints in 2024. Within the group, the turnover of the Coop retail chain also increased last year: sales amounted to 530 billion forints thanks to an increase of about 1.6 percent.

László Pekó, CO-OP Hungary Zrt. The chairman of the board of directors of CO-OP Hungary Zrt., spoke in detail at the general meeting about the difficulties the retail sector – and thus Coop – had to deal with last year, and what challenges characterize this year as well. “I was already working as a trader before the change of regime. However, around 1990, I never thought that I would once again have to learn about concepts such as the maximum consumer price,” said the company manager. “Last year we had to deal with the effects of mandatory sales and the price freeze, and this year with the margin freeze measure. We are not in an easy situation. It is very difficult to plan in such an environment,” added László Pekó.

Géza Tóth, CEO of CO-OP Hungary Zrt., evaluating the group’s last business year, highlighted: “2024 presented the sector with a rather difficult task, the mandatory sales and the price freeze completely turned the economy upside down.” He added: The latter measures were introduced from the second half of 2024, but the relief was only temporary, as a new price regulation measure, the margin cap, was introduced this year. He called these regulations distorting factors that significantly affected and will affect the management and room for maneuver of retail companies.

The CEO also mentioned that the macroeconomic fundamentals were not ideal last year, and this situation has not changed significantly this year. “Although everyone expected that demand would start to pick up after last year’s significant wage increase, household surplus consumption did not grow to the extent we thought. Furthermore, inflation in recent years has also made business planning very difficult,” emphasized Géza Tóth. He also drew attention to the fact that although energy prices have decreased, their level is still one of the highest in the EU compared to the country’s level of development.

Evaluating the regulatory and macroeconomic environment as a whole, he highlighted: “This year promises to be much more difficult. Our first quarter plan has come together, but it seems that it will be a very serious challenge to offset these negative factors in the coming quarters and thus be able to fulfill our plan for this year.”

Speaking about the concentration that characterizes the entire market and the company group, he said: this process continued to strengthen last year, so that the 50 largest franchise members of the COOP Economic Group accounted for almost 90 percent of the group’s total revenue in 2024. He also emphasized: among the players in the retail market, the COOP store chain continues to be present in the most places in the country, serving customers in approximately 2,100 stores in 1,400 settlements. Regarding the group’s small town development program, which was completed in 2023, he reminded that 461 stores were renovated with an investment of approximately 12 billion forints, which improved the living conditions of 450 thousand small town residents.

Regarding the group’s investments, he also said that digitalization developments, capacity and fresh goods logistics investments are ongoing at the members of their wholesale and logistics system that ensure the supply of goods to their stores, and in more and more regions, fruit and vegetable deliveries are also taking place from their own warehouses.