Overview
- Four retail groups—Edeka, Rewe, the Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland) and Aldi—control roughly 85% of German food retail, a dominance the report says has weakened competition.
- The commission finds retailers’ and manufacturers’ profit margins have risen for over a decade as German food prices climbed faster than in many EU countries, including a 37% increase since 2020.
- Price transmission is asymmetric, illustrated by milk prices rising from €0.70 to €1.05 per liter between 2014 and 2023 while farmers’ receipts stayed at €0.40, as retailers deepen power through own brands and production.
- Regulators are urged to scrutinize mergers across the entire supply chain, reassess past approvals such as Edeka’s 2016 Kaiser's Tengelmann takeover, and treat planned consolidations like DMK–Arla as potential risks.
- Trade bodies HDE and BVLH dispute the analysis and blame higher costs, while consumer and farm groups back stronger oversight, greater price transparency and measures such as an ombudsperson to address the supplier ‘fear factor’.