Analyst predicts discount group will overtake Carrefour in European food and drink retail and that UK and France will see major multiple convenience growth
LIDL is set to become the biggest food retailer in Western Europe by 2018. Analyst Planet Retail says that the discount chain, owned by Schwarz Group, will outpace French chain Carrefour over the next four years.
David Gray, analyst at Planet Retail, said: “The discounters are now a growing force in the Western European grocery landscape. This is an unprecedented power shift in European retail, fuelled by the near-unstoppable growth of the format.”
The multiples’ moves into convenience will continue, with France and the UK at the forefront. Gray added: “The UK is particularly advanced, accounting for more than half the region’s top 10 convenience players. Expect further work on the roll-out of convenience formats across the region over the next 12 months – stoked by global powerhouses Carrefour and Tesco.”
