In Poland thousands of small shops disappear, but their market share is stable

According to Nielsen’s ShopperTrends survey, the market share of small traditional shops has been stable at 55 percent for three years. Among modern retail channels supermarket is the most popular. Hypermarkets seem to be losing ground, while discount stores are expanding. As for the turnover of FMCG retail companies in Poland, Metro is the market leader with its EUR 4.2 billion realised last year. They are followed by discount chain Biedronka (EUR 3.8 billion) and Tesco (EUR 2.7 billion). There are 34,600 small shops in Poland (38 million inhabitants) and more than 8,000 drugstores, but 7,000 small shops were closed in the past year; the numbers of kiosks also decreased. Hypermarkets expanded by 10 percent to 267, supermarkets grew by 12 percent to 3,916. As for the crisis, most consumers say they have become more price sensitive when it comes to buying food. This especially influences alcoholic beverage, biscuit and chocolate sales. Mineral water, vegetables, baby food and bakery products are less vulnerable.