LARGE RETAIL CHAINS, RETAIL DENSITY AND SUPPLY CHAINS

This paper was induced by the fact that in present-day conditions mutual competition is provided by entire supply chains and not merely by particular companies/groups. Therefore the importance of retail should be considered not only according to its shares in the number of companies, in the number of employees, in creating additional value, and the like, but also in respect of its role in supply chains. Namely, successful supply chains are created, primarily, by large retail companies with their large stores. Based on available literature, the author first analyses the retail as part of distributive trade, in concentration processes in the economy, in vertical marketing systems and in supply. Available secondary sources are used for the analysis of selected European countries: greatest retailers and their importance, role of wholesale distribution, and density and development level of retail sale. Data collected from Eurostat and Deloitte are analysed and graphically presented by means of usual statistical methods (relative numbers, indexes and shares, tables and graphs). The results of the conducted research should confirm the thesis about the importance of the density and development of retail, relations between wholesale and retail companies, and shares of large retail companies / groups in the creation of modern supply chains as prerequisite for successful expansion into new markets. Therefore, regarding the possibilities for the development of supply chains, retail sale is not of the same importance in some of the observed countries.