Where to shop? These are the best discount chains in Hungary

The list for the top discount chains in 2022 is out. Lidl maintained its first-place position with a significant advantage. Aldi surpassed Penny this time, with a growth in revenue of around 30 percent. Even though their profits were similar, their number of stores significantly differs: Aldi generated slightly more revenue in far fewer stores than its competitor.

This year’s top list was extended to include 15 participants. The reason is that an increasing number of retailers reach the revenue threshold required to enter the list each year. The success and revenue growth of newly featured chains operated by Kerekes, Napcsillag, and Dél-100 are unprecedented, even though we know that inflation significantly boosted the revenue of every chain, writes 24.hu.

Hypermarkets in the lead

Among the hypermarkets, Spar and Tesco managed to maintain their positions. Although Auchan slipped back three places, it can claim the highest efficiency based on sales data and the number of stores. The drugstores maintained their expected revenue growth, although some stand out, such as the smallest chain, Dél-100, which has now entered the top list this year.

2022’s list had expanded with two additional sets of data. One is the number of employees, aiming to emphasise the importance of the workforce in the retail sector with factual information. The number of people employed by international chains approached 58,000 last year. The other highlighted data is the commercial tax, which cost the international chains listed over HUF 130 billion (EUR 350.5 million) in 2022.

Hungarian discount chains suffer

There was a clear and significant decline in the store count for Hungarian chains, from 10,600 to 7,000. For multinational chains, the number of units increased from 1,453 to 1,937 – the largest expansion was seen in Aldi, Spar, and Lidl, while Tesco experienced a moderate decrease.

Apart from the three Hungarian chains, only Tesco was unable to increase its revenue by more than 50 percent between 2010 and 2022. Aldi, Lidl, Rossmann, and Penny were the outstanding performers, while DM, Spar, and Auchan more than doubled their revenue. Lidl’s gross revenue approached HUF 1,200 billion (EUR 3.24 billion) last year.

Change in consumer habits

In 2022, the consumer confidence index continuously declined in Hungary. In terms of purchasing power, the income of a Hungarian household, which amounts to EUR 8,700 , now only ranks 30th in the European ranking. Meanwhile, food inflation rose from 10 percent at the beginning of the year to nearly 45 percent by the end of the year.

The difference between Budapest and the countryside has also grown significantly. Price increases affected the countryside more than the Budapest region, as stated in RetailZoom’s report on the year 2022. The percentage of consumers conducting large-basket shopping in Budapest averaged at 15.6 percent, compared to only 6.4 percent in rural areas. While the average value of large baskets in Budapest was around HUF 29,100 (EUR 78.53), it was HUF 13,650 (EUR 36.84) in rural areas, representing a 130 percent difference, which is continuously increasing.

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