Nestlé and the Schwarz Group at the top of the international brand equity ranking

Europe’s top 10 grocery retail chains, based on available annual sales data for 2021

Germany-based Schwarz Group is Europe’s biggest retailer, and the group’s top two chains, Lidl and Kaufland have more than 12,600 stores across Europe.

Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, the company’s two separate chains, run a total of more than 8,800 stores. Just like in Germany, Aldi’s market presence is shared between the two chains in other countries too.

Another German chain, REWE has a diverse portfolio with different store formats, including REWE supermarkets, Penny discount stores, and Baumarkt DIY stores.

German retail cooperative Edeka runs a network of independent stores across Germany, including Edeka supermarkets and Netto Marken-Discount discount stores.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, with operations in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Tesco operates a network of more than 4,600 stores.

Carrefour is based in France, but it is present in several European countries and on other continents too, with more than 11 000 stores, from small shops to large hypermarkets.

French cooperative E.Leclerc is the leading retailer in France, with approximately 1,500 stores.

From the chains of Les Mousquetaires, it is perhaps Intermarché that is the best known, but the group also runs Netto discount stores and Bricomarché DIY stores.

Sainsbury’s is a retail group that operates a variety of retail formats, as well as e-commerce, and has a portfolio of more than 2,200 stores.

French retailer Auchan is present in 13 countries and operates a network of over 4,000 stores.