International grocery discount retailers are continuing their expansion in Slovenia. In particular, German retailer Hofer, known as Aldi, opened three stores this year and currently has 81. While no additional openings are planned for this year, Hofer said it would slightly expand the floor space of its stores, STA Agency reports.
German retailer Lidl will have 49 stores in Slovenia by the end of the year.
The third biggest discount chain in Slovenia, Italy’s Eurospin, currently has 46 stores in the country and plans to open another four or five next year.
Hofer reported the biggest sales revenue, of EUR 396.5 mln for 2015 and EUR 352.9 mln for 2014. It posted a EUR 14.9 mln net profit in 2015 and EUR 19.5 mln in 2014.
Lidl generated EUR 300.3 mln in sales revenue last year and EUR 278.9 mln in 2014, while profit increased 20 pct in 2015 to EUR 10.4 mln.
Eurospin recorded sales revenue of EUR 104.9 mln in 2014 and EUR 112.5 mln in 2015, while profit was EUR 806,000 and slightly over EUR 1.0 m, respectively.
According to Finance.si, the market share of discount retailers in Slovenia has been growing steadily in recent years. It reached 17.2 pct a year ago, compared with 14.9 pct a year earlier and 12.4 pct in December 2012.
Mercator still holds the biggest share of the Slovenian retailer market, of around 30 pct.