Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2012-04-27, 18:36:07 | version 1.23.1
THE END OF HIGH-VOLUME GROWTH IN FOOD RETAILING Retail also benefited from the positive con- sumer mood. According to GfK calculations, German food retail and drugstore sales rose last year by a nominal 1.7% to €157 billion. However, in light of the marked rise in the price of raw materials, the real growth rate was rather modest. The current winners are the full-range retailers and drugstores, while the discounters’ share of sales has stagnated at around 43% of the total market. As GfK analyses show, this signals the end of high-volume growth for food retailing. In future, success is likely to be achieved by value-added strategies and here, retailing can benefit from the growing consumer focus on quality, particularly in the younger generation. For 2012, GfK is anticipat- ing a moderate rise in sales by a nominal 1.3% for food retailing and drugstores. But the increase may well be below inflation, and this would entail another reduction in volume. In non-food retailing, which includes electri- cal goods, textiles, furniture and DIY mer- chandise, sales increased by about 1.0% last year to reach €148 billion. In view of the mar- ket saturation affecting many segments, this is still a good figure. In the past year, there was another significant rise in the e-com- merce share among non-food merchandise groups, with online sales achieving growth in excess of 18% to record a total of just under By contrast, the will- ingness to buy continued to grow and remained at a consistently high level. The index average in Germany for the year stood at +34 points, a value unequalled anywhere else in Europe. Although in former times, Germans were regarded as panic savers, they have now become Europe’s most optimistic consumers. They are investing their money in capital assets, such as real estate, cars and consumer dura- bles, and this has given the economy a consid- erable boost. THE END OF HIGH-VOLUMETHE END OF HIGH-VOLUME GROWTH IN FOOD RETAILINGGROWTH IN FOOD RETAILING As GfK analyses show, this signals the end of high-volume growth for food retailing. In future, success is likely to be achieved retailing and drugstores. But the increase may well be below inflation, and this would entail another reduction in volume.By contrast, the will- Consumer spending and confidence among Germans in 2011 above the previous year’s level and consistently high Source: European Commission consumer survey, indicator calculation: GfK Marktforschung money in capital assets, such as real estate, cars 3/4 chinos from Marc Cain Polka-dot pussy bow shirt from Marc Cain Polka-dot pussy bowPolka-dot pussy bow shirt from Marc Cainshirt from Marc Cain Collier with matching rings from Bijou Brigitte 14 DES Annual Report 2011 SHOPPING consumption