THE RETAIL CONCENTRATION AND CHANGES OF THE GROCERY RETAIL STRUCTURE

Concentration is one of several key processes that are taking place in retail markets of the European countries. Retail concentration process occurs in all EU countries and it’s manifested with the decreasing number of leading retailers with simultaneous increase in their market share. Undergoing process of retail market concentration is bringing new challenges to all market participants: suppliers, existing retailers and customers. In this paper we will discuss concentration in retail industry, particularly in grocery retailing. The reached level of the grocery retail market concentration will be explained on European and national level in Croatia. In addition, we will address the impact of concentration process on some other trends and its influence on the retail market structure