Delta Maxi - largest market chain in Serbia and third largest chain in Adria region

- Delta Maxi has kept the position of the largest market chain in Serbia and the third largest chain in the Adria region - audit company Deloitte announced today.

According to Deloitte's analysis of the regional retail sector, Croatian Agrokor, with 2.67 billion euros worth of sales income in 2009, has taken the first place in the region from Slovenian Mercator, which registered a revenue of 2.64 billion euros last year.

In the market of Serbia, Delta Maxi, which registered 835 million euros worth of income in 2009, is followed by Mercator - 429 million euros, Idea - 363 million euros, Metro - 208 million euros, and Univerexport - 136 million euros.

Zarko Mijovic, a partner at Deloitte, said that the arrival of new market chains should be expected in the years to come, as well as expansion of the existing trade groups in the Adria region, which includes Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Mijovic stated that the incomes generated by Idea and Konzum, parts of Ivica Todoric's Agrokor, Mercator and Miroslav Miskovic's Delta Maxi represented three quarters of overall incomes of the 10 largest market chains in the region.

- The market shares of Agrokor and Mercator in the region are the same and amount to 28%, while Delta Maxi with 1.09 billion euros worth of income in the region has the market share of 12% - he said and added that Agrokor's market chains Konzum and Idea had increased their incomes, while Mercator and Delta had registered a drop in their revenues.

Predrag Kurcubic, the Media Research Director at Ipsos Strategic Marketing, said that 30% of citizens in Serbia shopped for less than 1,000 dinars every day, mainly in small stores in the neighborhood.

- According to the research conducted by Ipsos, 47% of the citizens of Serbia shop in small stores, while 40% buy goods in large market chains - he said.

Kurcubic assessed that it can be expected from consumers to decide to buy cheaper products and give up luxury brands, thus creating the chance for expansion of private brands.

He said that about 20% of people in Serbia were buying private brands, which was less than in the region, because that rate amounted to 40% in Croatia and 30% in Slovenia.