Retail and F&B: consolidation and cross-border playbooks

Driven by strong economic fundamentals, rising disposable incomes, resilient consumer demand and easing inflation, the level of growth in retail sales across CEE continues to outperform the region’s Western European counterparts. Consumers in CEE focus on value and convenience: cost-conscious yet discerning, they are willing to spend, but wisely. In turn, strategic expansion in the retail and F&B sector underpins potential growth opportunities for acquirors.  

The overall picture is more nuanced than binary. “Some brick-and-mortar retail is thriving, while others are suffering,” says Horea Popescu, partner at CMS in Romania. “Because of higher inflation, and in some cases increased taxes, consumers are more careful with their spending. The high discounter and convenience store models are much more appealing to them than the big hypermarkets; the revenues and profitability of these two models are also significantly higher. Online has taken quite a sizeable share of the overall market as more people choose that way to shop.”

Last year saw increased deal activity in volume terms, although overall deal values declined, pointing to a market driven by smaller and mid-sized transactions. Across Retail and Food & Beverage, the sector experienced a decline in deal value, but an increase in volume: overall value decreased from EUR 3.39bn in 2024 to EUR 3.1bn in 2025, while aggregate volume rose from 130 deals to 181. “Notably, these deals were not in just one or two countries, but spread relatively evenly among various jurisdictions and parts of the Nordic countries, North Europe, Central Europe, and South Eastern Europe,” according to Popescu.

Consolidation was another notable feature of the market, particularly in the convenience store model. “What's really driving M&A activity in this sector is the need for consolidation,” says Marija Zrno Prošić, partner at CMS in Croatia * . “Companies are trying to achieve scale to be more efficient. Typically, these are horizontal consolidations, often among local players consolidating through acquisition.”

As examples, she points to Studenac, a Croatian grocery chain which added 160 new stores in Croatia and Slovenia last year, and Podravka which acquired six agri-food subsidiaries from Fortenova Group for EUR 333m.

At a cross-border level, last year’s standout deals were all intra-European. They include the acquisition of Profi by the Dutch-Belgian multinational, Ahold Delhaize, for EUR 1.8bn (post-IFRS 16), and Germany’s Schwarz Group (owner of Lidl and Kaufland) which acquired a 70% stake in the Romanian discount chain La Cocos for an estimated EUR 100m.

The retail sector also saw a prominent deal: the sale of Rimi Baltic Group by Sweden’s ICA Gruppen to Denmark’s Salling Group for EUR 1.3bn. The deal applies to the Swedish food retailer’s operations in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Another notable development involves Żabka Group: majority-owned by CVC Capital Partners, it operates a chain of convenience stores in 11,000 locations across Poland. Having entered the Romanian market by acquiring a majority stake in food distributor DRIM Daniel Distributie FMCG in 2024, Żabka Group continued to expand its operations in both Romania and Poland last year.

There is significant M&A in e-commerce and related industries supporting e-commerce, including payment processing, notes Velizar Velikov, Head of EMIS M&A Database. “Hence, we have a lot of M&A in FinTech, and supporting services, including logistics, deliveries, local parcel delivery,” he says. “All this supports the ecosystem of online shopping.” Zrno Prošić notes that e-commerce is a particularly important factor for consumer goods, including food and beverages, but its influence is more pronounced in sectors such as fashion and technology. Speaking of brick-and-mortar retail in the food and beverage sector, where the proximity of local stores seems to be increasingly important to consumers.

The retail sector will continue to go through significant changes, Popescu suggests. “Consumers have changed their approach: they are less excited about the big hypermarket model that was dominant for many years.” He points to Carrefour, the French chain, which operates a traditional hypermarket store model, being up for sale in both Poland and Romania as part of a strategic review to focus on its core markets.

According to Zrno Prošić, the need for consolidation will endure, propelling more M&A activity in 2026 and beyond. Popescu adds, “Consumer habits change, but I do not expect to see a significant decrease in the demand for retail services. People are looking for convenience that is available online, or from convenience stores nearby. Alternatively, they are looking for a higher discount and better bargains.”

Underpinned by a strong foundation in consumer spending, an increase in real wages, and one of fastest growing regional markets for e-commerce, the outlook for foreign investment in the sector remains very positive. Compared to Western Europe, the CEE region has less retail space per capita, creating further opportunities for cross-border expansion by retailers. Similarly, sustained innovation in food and beverage that focuses on quality, affordability and convenience will continue to attract regional and international investors.