Supermarkets claim provinces
With many Greeks leaving the larger cities for the summer holidays, large supermarket chains have taken their battle for a slice of the market beyond their traditional stomping ground.
The trend is reflected in the fact that the reach of the Sklavenitis chain now extends outside Attica for the first time in its history, as well as efforts by the other big supermarket chains, AB Vassilopoulos, Lidl and My Market, to establish themselves outside Athens.
According to the latest data, the number of supermarkets in Attica fell in 2015 compared to 2014, while the number grew in other parts of Greece. In 2015, out of a total of 2,490 supermarkets nationwide (according to data from IRI), 865 were in Attica and the other 1,625 elsewhere in Greece.
Although in 2015 there were eight fewer supermarkets nationally compared to 2014, there were 20 new stores in central Greece, eight in Crete and one in the Peloponnese.
The spread of the big chains beyond large urban areas has come at a cost, however, for local chains and stores, which have struggled because they supply fewer products and provide a limited number of services (such as big parking areas and home delivery).
