Supermarket chains at war
The “war” between supermarket chains is taking the form of a thinly veiled public confrontation over market shares.
It is no coincidence that the war is focused on private label products, as this category continues to experience very high growth rates as a result of persisting inflation.
The investments of traditional chains in this category are increasing in order to compete with the one and only hard discounter in Greece, Lidl, which has the objective of dominating the sales of private label products. According to research firm Circana, in January-March 2024 the share of private label products was 27.1%, up from 26.6% in the first quarter of 2023.
The chains primarily at war are Lidl and AB Vassilopoulos, as both are competing for the second place in terms of market shares, since Sklavenitis is the runaway market leader.
In addition, AB Vassilopoulos has been trying for years to shake off the character of the expensive chain, the supermarket preferred by the elite. Furthermore, this is not the first time that a German-Dutch “war” has broken out on Greek soil.
This latest battle started when Lidl Greece published the results of a price comparison it carried out on 14 private label products in its own store, in Sklavenitis and in AB Vassilopoulos on its website and in its weekly offers brochure on Thursday.
According to Lidl’s table, the purchase of the specific products would cost 39.17 euros at Lidl, €44.38 at AB Vassilopoulos and €46.75 at Sklavenitis. However, the receipts show different prices, where the AB basket is cheaper than that of Lidl.
The difference between Lidl’s table and the receipts is due to the comparison of dissimilar packaging and quantities.
The answer came on Thursday evening from AB Vassilopoulos, which wrote on Facebook: “Dear Lidl Hellas, We saw that you came and shopped with us, thank you very much. You proved we already have low prices, but with a 6-euro reward your cart would be even more economical! That is why we took the initiative to make you a member of AB Plus,” referring to its loyalty scheme.
