ELOMAS is trying to enter a wedge in the competition of supermarkets

By George Lampiris

The ELOMAS shopping group is looking for its footprints in the next day of the departure of the two big chains of Kritikos and Bazaar in the autumn of 2020.

The two chains, of which Kritikos recorded a turnover of 390 million euros in 2020 and Bazaar 190 million euros, at first reading seemed to weaken the group of markets in terms of turnover towards the companies from which their products are procured as well as to wider industry.

On the other hand, many saw that this move would release the other companies participating in ELOMAS, currently headed by Dimitris Alexakis – vice president of SYNKA supermarkets – to show their strength and especially for a better distribution of these forces in within the group at equilibrium level.

In order to cover part of the lost turnover of the two largest companies that left, the group then proceeded from May 2021 and then joined eleven new members, shorter chain, with turnovers of about 9 million euros the smallest to and EUR 33 million, the largest with a total additional turnover of more than EUR 200 million. With this move, the group reached a total of 850 million euros in sales, while its turnover before the departure of Bazaar and Cretan was at the level of 1.2 billion euros.

The sudden dismissal of the commercial director, Costas Papaioannou

In the context of the search for his new identity, a move that seems to have surprised many in the supermarket market but also within the group, due to what happened with brief procedures, was the removal of the group’s commercial director, Costas Papaioannou, at the end of last week, who had served in ELOMAS for the last nine years.

This fact, despite the fact that executives with knowledge of the facts hastened to characterize it as an expected development since the group had set the frame for the renewal of its business management and strategy, by others it is reported that it has created opposing forces which consist of one on the other hand, the head of the management committee (on the substance of the management) of the group, Dimitris Alexakis, and on the other hand, the vice-president of the supermarket group, Collaborating Grocers – with a turnover of around 100 million euros – Giannis Pilidis and Christos G head of the eponymous chain based in Drama.

On the other hand, companies such as Andrikopoulos based in Patras and Gegos based in Eastern Attica, whose heads also participate in the management committee of ELOMAS, seem to appear more compromising, supporting the changes within the group but in a milder way. , in order for him to be able to face the strong competition resulting from large supermarket chains such as Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos, Lidl, Masoutis, Galaxias and several other players in the Greek market.

The main philosophy of ELOMAS is found in the existence of many smaller supermarkets mainly from the region but not only, which by combining seek to achieve better prices on products purchased from industry, to achieve offers on their products at end points of sale and enhancing the competitiveness of their members operating under a common umbrella.

New data after Papaioannou’s removal

Regarding the removal of Papaioannou, according to market sources, it is expected to bring new data to the group, with the pursuit of new agreements, the improvement of the offer brochure and the strengthening of the number of private label products, the better positioning of the group in the market but also its strongest presence through advertising, a field in which ELOMAS is looking for a new advertising company for its TV spots and the wider management of its image.