FMCG retail chains ranking

21,340 general food stores operated in Hungary at the end of 2007, whereas the same number was 21,959 in 2006. According to Mrs. Szalóky Judit Tóth, director of Nielsen, this decrease of 3 per cent is less than it used to be in the preceding period. There were 15,310 small stores at the end of 2004 and only 12,533 at the end of 2007. The smallest of the small, the less than 30 square meter stores find it the hardest to stay in competition, especially those located in cities. Total store space has been growing continuously for 10 years. The number of hyper markets has doubled in four years. The number of discount stores grew by 35 units last year. Lidl alone has opened 90 stores in three years. Most of the 21 new supermarkets opened last year belong to Tesco and Spar. The total number of new stores opened by Tesco last year was 23, while the same was 16 for Spar, which also achieved a 16 per cent expansion in revenues. Total store space was 2,835 million square meters in 2007. Hyper markets increased their market share slightly in 2007. They account for 30 per cent of food sales and nearly 40 per cent of the sales of chemical products in the categories monitored by Nielsen. It is notable that the average floor space of new units opened last year was smaller than it had beenin the past. With the 21 new units opened last year, the total number of supermarkets in Hungary was 397 las year. Supermarkets increased their food sales by 18.4 per cent compared to 2006. Domestic retail chains hold very strong positions in the retail of food, with a combined market share of 28 per cent in terms of value. 40 per cent of the 21,340 general food stores belong to one of the domestic chains. The number of discoumt stores totalled 498 in 2007. Lidl alone opened 23 stores last year, (out of a total of 39 new discounts) bringing the total number of its units to 90 in only three years and increasing its revenues by 39 per cent within a single year. Aldi is certain to mak a big impact in the market this year. The largest drop in the number of stores occurred in the South-eastern region. The retail network is most fragmented in the North-eastern region, with 29 per cent of all stores for 24 per cent of the total population. The retail network shows a great degree of concentration in the central region.