On November 18, 2024, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) approved the acquisition of four locations of the food retailer Globus. Following the approval, the acquisition of the Bedburg, Chemnitz, Essen and Wesel locations can be completed by Kaufland. The originally planned acquisition of the additional location in Neubrandenburg was abandoned by Kaufland after the Federal Cartel Office raised competition law concerns.

Competition concerns in Neubrandenburg

Kaufland had already sought to acquire the Neubrandenburg site in 2020 but had to refrain from doing so due to similar concerns. The current investigations have shown that the competitive structure in the region has remained largely unchanged. Especially in the area of full-range products and large-scale stores, the Schwarz Group, to which Kaufland belongs, is already a leader in the region. The further increase in market share would have further strengthened this market position of the Schwarz Group, which also includes the Lidl stores.

Changed market structure in other regions

In Bedburg, on the other hand, the investigations revealed that the market structure has changed considerably: In particular, the opening of several new locations by competitors and an increase in the catchment area of the location in question were decisive for this. Due to this changed market structure, the merger did not give rise to any competition law concerns. In Chemnitz, Essen and Wesel, the investigations also revealed that the Schwarz Group’s market share is less than one third, meaning that the competitive pressure from other providers such as REWE, EDEKA and ALDI remains sufficient.

Ambivalent role of online retail

In its decision, the FCO also dealt with the role of online food retailing. While it hardly plays a role in rural regions such as Neubrandenburg, it has a growing, but still limited, influence in urban areas such as Essen. Overall, however, online food retailing did not have a decisive influence on the FCO’s assessment.

Focus on the sales and procurement side

In addition to the consumer side, the procurement side was also examined. As a result of the merger, the Schwarz Group is further expanding its market position in food procurement. However, this is only to a very limited extent, which gives no cause for concern from a national competition perspective.

Conclusion

The decision underlines once again that the protection of competition in the food retail sector remains a priority for the FCO: by carefully examining the regional (and national) effects on competition, the FCO ensures that consumers have a choice between different retailers.