Lectures "WIFO-Extern", Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Wien, 19.04.2016
The Austrian food retail trade is characterised by a high and rising market concentration. In addition to proceedings for
forbidden price agreements in recent years, this sector has again come under economic policy scrutiny following the insolvency
of Zielpunkt GmbH at the end of 2015. As the present study shows, the insolvency of this retail chain has only a minor impact
on the quality of supply and the diversity of supply. However, since one competitor has left the market, the increase in market
concentration is considerable. The planned takeover of some Zielpunkt branches by companies with low market shares cannot
cushion the increase in market concentration, as most branches are taken over by the market leaders.
Walter Barfuß (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde), Gunther Tichy (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Michael Böheim (WIFO)