The European Commission recently noted that the Estonian economy was hit early on by last year's rapid rise in energy prices and suffered from a strong pass-through to other inflation components. Private consumption therefore slowed markedly during 2022.
According to the Commission, consumer price inflation peaked in August 2022 and has since slowly decelerated, recording 19.4% on average in 2022. The deceleration is expected to continue in 2023, driven by declining commodity and energy prices.
In addition, inflation indexation clauses are typically not used in Estonia for wage setting or price-setting contracts, which should support a relatively rapid deceleration in inflation. Overall, inflation is forecast to reach 6.2% by the end of 2023 and 2.2% in 2024.
According to data from Statistics Estonia, value sales in the retail sector fell by 13% in March, on top of a 6% drop in February. Sales were down 9% in the grocery sector, according to local media reports.
Here's an overview of the top five supermarket retail chains in Estonia, according to their most recently-available full-year turnover. All data is supplied by Retail-Index (www.retail-index.com).
1. Selver
Turnover: €575 million (2021)
Selver is top of the list with an annual turnover of €575 million as of 2021, and 74 outlets currently in Estonia.
The first Selver store – Punane Selver – was opened in 1995 on Lasnamäe in Tallinn. The first major year of expansion was 2002, when Selver doubled the number of its stores and expanded from the capital to Pärnu. By 2012, the business had developed a nationwide network.
In 2020, Selver expanded into the small stores sector, as 19 stores were added to the existing 53 Selver stores with the purchase of Abc Supermarkets.
2. Maxima
Turnover: €520 million (2021)
Maxima, part of Lithuania's Maxima Grupe, had an annual turnover of €520 million in 2021. Maxima has 86 stores in Estonia as of this year.
In February of this year, Maxima Estonia appointed Kristina Mustonen as its sole board member and chief executive officer.
Read More: Maxima Estonia Names Kristina Mustonen As New CEO
3. Coop
Turnover: €448 million (2021)
Coop is third on the list with an annual turnover of €448 million in 2021.
Coop Estonia (previously ETK) is Estonia's oldest retailer. Today, the co-op family includes 18 consumer cooperatives all over the country. The Coop Eesti Keskühistu or central association, which was established in 1917, offers a range of services to these cooperatives, from central logistics to cooperative marketing.
Coop Estonia currently has nearly 70,000 client-owners.
Coop had 332 outlets in Estonia as of 2022, under the banners Alati ja Odavalt, Konsum and Maksimarket.
4. Rimi
Turnover: €409 million (2021)
Rimi had an annual turnover of €409 million in 2021.
Part of the Rimi Baltic group, the retailer had 84 outlets as of 2023 under the banners Rimi Express, Rimi Hyper, Rimi Mini and Rimi Super.
5. Prisma Peremarket (S Group)
Turnover: €189 million (2021)
Prisma had an annual turnover of €189 million as of 2021, and currently has 14 outlets in Estonia. It is a subsidiary of Finland's SOK (S Group).
In Estonia, the subsidiaries of the SOK group include AS Prisma Peremarket and AS Sokotel, which operates under the trademark of Sokos Hotel Viru.
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.
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Germany
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Hungary
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Poland
Read More: Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In Romania
© 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.
