Greece

In 2023, Greece’s GDP growth slowed to 2.2%, but outperformed Western Europe’s average. Economic growth was driven by private spending, gross fixed capital formation, and a resurgence in tourism, although it was hindered to some extent by sluggish…

Due to elevated inflation and rising costs, pet owners have been trying to restrict their non-essential spending on pet products. For this reason demand for pet accessories fell towards the end of the review period with consumers paying more…

Pet care continues to grow in both value and volume terms in Greece in 2024, having recorded steady growth over the review period. Pet care witnessed stronger growth in current value terms in 2023 than volume terms with this resulting from the impact…

Sales of fish food have been in decline in the last few years of the review period in retail volume terms. This decline is linked to the gradual decline being seen in the pet fish population. Fish are no longer seen as a “trendy” pet in the Greek pet…

People are putting more and more emphasis on animal welfare and some brands are incorporating that mindset into their product lines and marketing. For example, Pet City, the leading chain of pet shops and superstores in Greece, attaches great…

There has been a growing demand for high-quality customer service when owners go shopping for their cats, with people increasingly looking for treatments and services as well as food and products for their beloved pets. Pet City, which is the leading…

Volume sales of sun protection continued to grow in Greece in 2023, driven by the momentum of tourism and rising consumer awareness regarding sun hazards, even off-season. Indeed, daily UV protection is now commonplace. On the other hand, the…

Premium skin care largely outperformed the mass segments in Greece in 2023. Big players with huge investments are catering to a growing market of ever more aware, health- and safety-conscious local consumers who increasingly turn to the pharmacy…

Premium skin care performed very strongly in Greece in 2023 in current value terms, with premium dermocosmetic brands sold in pharmacies spearheading growth and registering significantly better performance compared to their mass counterparts. While…

Oral care registered a small volume increase in Greece in 2023, following a small decline the previous year.

Albeit from a smaller base, increased marketing and consumer interest in the men’s grooming space helped men’s grooming outperform unisex beauty and personal care products in 2023. This is the case in categories like bath and shower, where growth in…

Strong price increases in supermarkets as a result of inflation was the biggest factor influencing the performance of mass beauty and personal care in Greece in 2023. Many local consumers selected shopping destinations based on offers and discounts…

Hair care registered current value growth in 2023, driven largely by price rises. The two key categories of standard shampoos and conditioners and treatments saw volume sales decline, despite current value growth. For shampoos, price rises were…

During the pandemic, the main channels for premium fragrances, department stores and beauty specialist retailers, suffered the biggest losses, while home seclusion and limited opportunities for going out and socialising dampened demand. However,…

A chronically declining category, hair removers and bleaches has seen an uptick in sales in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this increase can be attributed to increased willingness amongst consumers to socialise.

2023 was very positive for deodorants in Greece, as both core deodorant categories, roll-ons and sprays, recorded strong growth in volume terms. This can be attributed to the increased use of deodorants due to a changing climate and higher inbound…

As the category hardest hit by COVID-19 due to the closure of department stores and beauty specialist retailers, limited social occasions and mask-wearing, colour cosmetics recorded current value growth in Greece in 2023 but has still yet to return…

High inflation and its subsequent impact on local consumers’ disposable income significantly impacted purchasing habits and brand developments across beauty and personal care in Greece in 2023.

In 2023, growth in the largest subcategory in beauty and personal care in Greece, body wash/shower gel, was driven by price increases and tourism. Private label registered brand share growth owing to the tightening of household budgets.

Excluding hair care and baby wipes, the baby and child-specific category registered volume decline in Greece in 2023, with current value growth resulting from unit price rises. Volume decline can be attributed to falling birth rates, leading to…

In 2023, wipes in Greece recorded a retail value decline, with retail volume declining in all areas apart from baby wipes. These declines were the result of higher price points and the rising cost of living, with consumers prioritising essential…

In 2023, the tissue and hygiene landscape in Greece recorded double-digit retail value growth, driven by rising price points. However, the decline in disposable incomes influenced and shaped consumer behaviour in the tissue and hygiene market. While…

In 2023, retail tissue in Greece saw a substantial uplift in retail value growth, driven by ongoing inflation. The retail price of tissue products saw significant hikes in 2022, which continued in 2023; the consequence of rising costs of raw…

In 2023, retail adult incontinence in Greece recorded positive retail value and volume growth, with value sales boosted by rising price points. Unlike other hygiene product categories where the share of private labels is low, this is not the case…

In 2023, nappies/diapers/pants in Greece was subject to price hikes; the result of an increase in production and logistics costs. Despite the increase in prices in 2022, retail prices rose further across all subcategories in 2023 as manufacturers and…

In 2023, the menstrual care landscape in Greece was impacted by rising production costs and supply chain pressures, which urged companies to increase retail prices. This led to overall positive, double-digit retail value growth. To continue…

In 2023, away-from-home tissue and hygiene recorded an uplift in value sales, while volume sales were challenged by rising prices. Horeca operators faced reduced profit margins in 2023; the result of price hikes in operating costs due to a rising in…

Vending saw dynamic current value growth in Greece in 2023, though sales remained far below the level seen in 2021. Vending in Greece declined dramatically after the closure of ThesGala-Pies Cooperative’s fresh milk vending machines, which had…

Supermarkets saw value growth in Greece in 2023. Players in the channel expand their networks mainly through acquisitions, primarily focusing on the acquisition of small local chains in order to open stores all over Greece. Smaller chains were hit…

While small local grocers saw current value growth in Greece in 2023, the channel’s expansion was less rapid than that seen in other areas of grocery retailing. Grocery stores that specialise in Asian, Mexican and other ethnic cuisines did see an…

Retail faced notable challenges in Greece in 2023. Inflation was - and continues to be - very high and prices were constantly rising. Retailers, regardless of industry, were forced to raise their prices as they could not absorb the increases in the…

Retail e-commerce saw more modest current value growth in Greece in 2023, following three consecutive years of double-digit expansion. The fact that the penetration rate of e-commerce in many categories was relatively low by Western European…

The hypermarkets channel saw value sales rise in Greece in 2023. Hypermarkets are evolving into small shopping centres. Their construction with escalators, their huge parking lots and the variety of products on offer are reminiscent of a shopping…

The home products specialists channel registered current value growth in Greece in 2023. During the year, Leroy Merlin, the third largest brand in home products specialists overall, inaugurated its first Naterial store, a showroom that offers the…

Health and beauty specialists saw current value growth in Greece in 2023. Players in the channel are working hard to differentiate their offers and adapt to evolving market trends. The Body Shop launched a store in Athens that is sustainably designed…

General merchandise stores saw continued current value growth in Greece in 2023. Many brands continue to invest heavily in traditional advertising, such as through television, since it still manages to target consumers aged above 40 years old who…

The discounters channel saw an upward trend in Greece throughout the review period, which continued in 2023. The challenging economic conditions and high rate of inflation prevailing towards the end of the review period served to bolster consumer…

Direct selling saw sales fall significantly in Greece in 2023. Since direct selling requires not only sales and interpersonal skills, but also strategic thinking, Oriflame decided to start blogging about how people can use direct sales techniques to…

Convenience retailers witnessed growth in Greece in 2023 as more and more people visited their stores for their daily purchases. This trend started during the COVID-19 crisis, when consumers procured essential goods from nearby stores, and now it has…

Following Olympia’s EUR50 million investment in Public, which left Olympia owning 98% of the Public-Media Markt venture in Greece and Cyprus, the Media Markt stores have been rebranded Public + home and specialise in white appliances. Consequently,…

Apparel and footwear specialists saw current value growth in 2023. Inflation and continued price increases have been driving more and more consumers into the second-hand market, which is gradually gaining ground in Greece. Recently, the Bulgarian…

Fragrance is a key area of new developments in toilet care, as players vie to catch consumers' attention. For example, third-placed overall brand Klinex (Unilever Hellas SA) launched a new series of rim blocks with essential oils, with unique…

As a result of the decline in disposable incomes, consumer spending priorities have changed and, in turn, we are seeing sluggish volume sales overall, in addition to challenges faced by certain value-added products which come with higher price tags.…

Polishes is a relatively uninteresting category, which is suffering from being a discretionary product in a time of economic pressures. Added to which, polishes has also been affected by price hikes, alongside the category not having a great deal of…

Despite laundry care remaining in a negative volume slump, value sales remain supported by the higher prices in the category, as the notable players are big global names. Indeed, Procter & Gamble Hellas SA and Unilever Hellas SA are the top two…

Home insecticides is another category which is being impacted by price hikes, driven by high costs for manufacturers and inflationary pressures. Whilst players have aimed to absorb their own costs as much as possible, especially in light of the…

Overall inflationary pressures eased in Greece in 2023, compared to the inflation spikes seen in 2022. However, despite this improving economic environment, inflation remains high on home care products. Such pressures derive from the rise in energy…

Dishwashing is booming in value growth, driven by price hikes caused by increased costs for manufacturers and inflation overall. On the other hand, volume remains stable, albeit at low growth rates. This is because many dishwashing products are…

Despite bleach remaining in a volume slump and suffering from maturity, the category is actually somewhat benefitting from consumers' reduced purchasing power. Essentially, bleach offers a cheap and effective cleaning solution, despite its negative…

Air care is a discretionary category, thus is facing the challenges of offering non-essential products in a time of economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures. That said, sales are still managing to show positive volume and value growth, albeit…