Delhaize: Serbia’s Economic Measures Undermining Retail Sector

Groceries (Free Image)

Belgian retail company Delhaize Group said on Sept. 4 that the Serbian government’s new economic measures, specifically the 20 percent cap on staple food retail markups, are negatively impacting the country’s retail sector.

“As Serbia’s leading retailer, operating 559 stores and employing over 12,000 people, we are conducting a comprehensive analysis to determine the full impact of the Government’s new measures, which include interventions in the food retail market, on our business. According to current estimates, the new regulations have a negative effect and require significant adaptations from not only our company but the retail sector as a whole,” Delhaize said in its press release.

The company pointed out that inflation has had an obvious effect on food prices and that this challenge requires shared responsibility and joint efforts on part of the state, food producers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers – rather than just food retailers.

It was clarified that, in 2024, Delhaize Serbia achieved a net profit margin of 4.4 percent, meaning that for every RSD100 spent in their stores, RSD4.4 was left over as profit once the company covered all procurement costs – including the costs of goods sold, employee wages, taxes, rent and other expenditures.

The Serbian Government’s cap on markups for basic foodstuffs, introduced to help raise the country’s living standard, took effect on Sept. 1 and is planned to last six months.