Current trade data on German food retailers

The new statistics from the EHI Retail Institute

The new article from the EHI Retail Institute provides exciting up-to-date insights into current data on food retailers. Who makes the most sales? Read more here! You can find the original article here.

In 2020, grocery stores in Germany generated total net sales of around 179.8 billion euros. According to EHI estimates, the 10 largest companies in the food retail sector contributed around 168 billion euros to this figure.

The predominantly cooperative Edeka Group leads the ranking of the largest companies in food retailing. Sales at its supermarkets and hypermarkets amounted to 42.2 billion euros in the 2020 financial year. Total sales amounted to around 61 billion euros, representing strong sales growth of 9.5 percent on the previous year.

Edeka has a total of around 402,000 employees, including 19,250 trainees. The Group’s sales network comprised more than 11,100 food retail outlets at the end of 2020.

The Netto Marken-Discount discount stores belonging to the Edeka Group generated sales of 14.55 billion euros in Germany in the 2020 financial year, putting them in fifth place in the ranking of the top 10 food retailers in Germany. The Edeka subsidiary had a total of 4,262 stores as of December 31, 2020.

The Rewe Group, which generated sales of 28.64 billion euros with its full-range stores in Germany, is in second place in the ranking. Good results achieved by the independent Rewe retailers in times of the Corona pandemic and the integration of the Lekkerland Group are the main reasons for this development. Rewe’s Penny sales line generated net sales of 8.05 (excluding food service and specialist stores) in 2020. This makes the discounter one of the highest-turnover food discounters in Germany and puts it in 8th place in the ranking of the largest companies in food retailing.

Lidl takes third place in the ranking. The largest discounter in Germany is part of the Schwarz group of companies based in Neckarsulm. In 2020, the company generated estimated net sales of 21.6 billion euros in Germany with 3,202 stores. 39 regional companies, each with its own administration and logistics centers, ensure the supply and management of around 80 stores each.

The top 15 ranking of grocery retailers in Germany and other rankings can be found in the EHI’s newly published statistics compendium “handelsdaten aktuell 2021”.

Dossier “Food Retailing in Germany”

Further information and statistics on German food retailing can be found in the dossier “Food Retailing in Germany”.