Retail Tissue in Greece

2021 DEVELOPMENTS

Lockdown and home seclusion continue to contribute to growth of retail tissue

In 2021, home seclusion and the fact Greece was in lockdown until May contributed to retail tissue retaining volume sales at a level higher than those in 2019. Sales posted a decline compared to 2020 as they started to level off given that consumers did not stockpile during the second lockdown, nor did they spend as much time at home as they did in March-April 2020.

Retail tissue prices rise in 2021 as manufacturers and retailers unable to absorb all rising costs

Price hikes in retail tissue products in Greece were evident in 2021 due to the increase in production costs, import costs, and the costs of raw material ie paper pulp, as well as the increase in petrol prices which resulted in a rise in logistics costs. Manufacturers and retailers could not afford to absorb the hike in costs, hence passed them on to the consumer.

Trends in retail tissue include premiumisation and increasing product variety and availability

Within toilet paper, there is a premiumisation trend with a notable migration towards 4-ply and 3-ply products. In paper towels, interleaf folded towels are performing well although their penetration remains low and the category is dominated by jumbo rolls.

PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Losses in volume projected for retail tissue as things return to normal

Volume sales of retail tissue are projected to decline over the forecast period. Already in the final quarter of 2021 companies were requesting employees that have been vaccinated to return to working in their offices.

Growth opportunities for domestic brands in consolidated retail tissue

In retail tissue, there is little room for new players to enter the market, which is quite consolidated. Multinational Essity AB with Zewa and Delica is anticipated to remain the leading branded player in value share terms, while Softex is leading domestic brand.

Will private label regain its lost share?

In the middle of the review period, branded products started to gain value share from private label as branded products supported with discounting activities sometimes ended up having even lower prices compared to private label, or the price difference was very low and therefore consumers opted for brands. 2020 saw a rise again in the share of private label partly because during the panic buying evidenced upon the announcement of the first lockdown consumers practically purchased whatever was available in stores.