The inflation of the last two years is changing store formats and determining…

♦ Auchan recently launched the “Atac hyperdiscount” brand ♦ Flanco has repositioned itself as a smart discounter ♦ In fashion, many of the new names that have entered the market in recent years operate in the outlet or discount segment.

The inflation of the last two years changes the formats of stores and causes retailers to put the discount and hard-discount format on the market, and this not only in the food trade, but also in fashion and electo-IT.

These changes come at a time when prudence is the watchword when shopping for Romanians whose purchasing power has been affected by the record inflation of the last two years. Next, Romania has the highest inflation in Europe, at 6.6%, double the average of the Old Continent.

“In the last two or three years, the reorientation of the client towards need and efficiency, at the expense of comfort, was obvious. This is translated by basing the purchase primarily on price. However, many customers try to combine the two advantages – of price and quality -, so they hunt for offers and promotions. In a world where the FOMO – Fear of Missing Out syndrome makes its presence felt in all aspects of life, the shopping experience is no exception”, says Dragoş Sîrbu, CEO and minority shareholder of Flanco. In this context, in food trade Auchan recently launched the “Atac hiperdiscount” brand, in electro-IT retail Flanco repositioned itself as a smart discounter, and in fashion many of the new names that have entered the market in recent years are active in the outlet segment or in the discount one.

On the other hand, the already existing and active brands in this price area are betting on an accelerated expansion. “The discounters (from the food trade – n. ed.), including Lidl, recorded remarkable performances in 2023, reaching, in total, a market share of 27%. This indicates a clear orientation of consumers towards more economical options”, say Lidl officials, who quote McKinsey consulting company. However, they do not provide details regarding their own market share or turnover obtained last year.

But the discount is no longer only the prerogative of the food trade.

The bet on low prices extends from the food area to the fashion market. In total, in the last two years more than 15 new fashion brands entered Romania, a sign that local consumers are still passionate about how they look and what they wear. A good part of the newcomers, however, are active in the area of ​​low prices, led by Lefties, Primark and HalfPrice.