Albania hasn't been immune from recent cost-of-living pressures, with inflation in the country standing at 7.1% in February, compared to 7.2% in January.
On 24 March, the Central Bank hiked the key interest rate to 3.00%, from 2.75%, to curb price pressures, according to FocusEconomics.
Elsewhere, according to Institute of Statistics data, the annual rate of price growth in March 2023 was 5.3%, compared to 5.7% a year earlier.
The Institute said the annual growth rate in March was influenced mostly from prices in the 'food and non-alcoholic beverage' group, which rose 3.94%. More recently, INSTAT reported that inflation was down to 4.6% in Albania in April, largely driven by the price of fuel. Food prices have also slowed with the 'Food and non-alcoholic beverages' segment seeing prices 3.43% higher than a year earlier, according to local news reports.
Here's an overview of the top five supermarket retail chains in Albania, according to their most recently-available full-year turnover. All data is supplied by Retail-Index (www.retail-index.com).
1. Big Market
Turnover: €100 million (2020 – estimated)
Big Market is the biggest supermarket in Albania with an estimated annual turnover of €100 million in 2020.
It had 180 stores in the country as of 2022 and it trades under the banners Big Market & Tirana Cash and Carry.
2. SPAR
Turnover: €75 million (2021)
SPAR recorded an annual turnover of €75 million in Albania in 2021. It had 66 stores in the country as of the same year.
The licence for SPAR in Albania was granted in mid-2016 to Almark, a private company owned by the Balfin Group. Almark/Balfin previously operated 17 Carrefour stores in Albania. Between October 2016 and at the year's end these stores were converted to the SPAR brand.
3. Conad
Turnover: €50 million (2020 – estimated)
Conad recorded an estimated annual turnover of €100 million in Albania in 2020.
It had 27 outlets in Albania as of 2021.
4. Eco Market
Turnover: €14 million (2020 – estimated)
Eco Market recorded an estimated annual turnover of €14 million in 2020. The retail chain had 19 outlets in Albania as of 2021.
Eco Food Market is part of AIBA Company, which was founded in 1993.
5. Extra Market
Turnover: €5 million (2020 – estimated)
Extra Market ranks fifth on the list and had an estimated turnover of €5 million in 2020.
The retailer operated 10 stores in Albania as of 2021.
About Retail-Index
Retail-Index is a specialist supplier of management information on consumer retail markets, provided by Veraart Research Group in the Netherlands. Its mission is to supply managers with up-to-date key information on retail markets in Europe and support them in their international expansion.
The company dates back to 1964, when it started as a market research and marketing consulting company for consumer products and services. In 1989, it started publishing written reports on various retail sectors in Europe. As of 2005, it publishes its information on retailers through the online database and curated datasheet exports available on www.retail-index.com. A team of researchers manages the data to reflect upon current developments in the markets, collected from an extensive number of sources.
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© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Robert McHugh. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
