Greek consumers are facing an escalating crisis at the supermarket, where basic grocery shopping has become a test of endurance. Leonidas Karigiannis, CEO of the Small and Medium Supermarkets Group, painted a grim picture of the situation in an interview on Stο Kόkkino radio station on Monday, revealing the severe impact of inflation and corporate dominance on everyday life.
Over the past four years, general inflation in Greece has risen by 19.2 percent. In the same period, wages have increased by only 12.3 to 12.4 percent, while food prices have surged by more than 30 percent. For the average household, this means that each trip to the supermarket now requires careful calculations and sacrifices, as rising costs outpace earnings. What makes matters worse is that many of the promotional offers that once provided some relief—such as «buy one, get one free» deals or 40 percent discounts—have disappeared. According to Karigiannis, this is no accident. Companies have deliberately phased out these discounts to sustain their enormous profit margins, and they have done so with little to no government intervention.
A major reason for the soaring prices, he explained, is the overwhelming presence of multinational corporations in the Greek supermarket sector. These global giants now control around 70 percent of the products on Greek supermarket shelves. But what is even more alarming is the pricing disparity. While these same companies operate across Europe, they charge Greek consumers anywhere from 20 to 300 percent more for identical products. Karigiannis pointed to Germany as a stark comparison. Wages there are roughly 2.5 percent higher than in Greece, yet multinational companies sell their goods at significantly lower prices—sometimes 30, 50, or even 100 percent cheaper than in Greece. The difference, he argued, lies in regulation. While European countries enforce stricter market controls, Greece lacks any meaningful oversight, allowing multinationals to set their prices unchecked.
The dominance of these corporations has also led to the decline of Greek-owned brands in supermarkets. Many once-independent Greek companies have been acquired by foreign multinationals, meaning that consumers often believe they are supporting local products when, in reality, they are purchasing from global giants. At the same time, smaller Greek businesses struggle to get their products onto supermarket shelves. The reason is simple: major retail chains demand exorbitant entry fees, effectively shutting out local producers and cooperatives. As a result, even high-quality Greek products are pushed out of the market in favor of multinational brands.
Karigiannis warned that without consumer action, this situation will only worsen. He called for the creation of a strong consumer movement capable of challenging corporate dominance through boycotts and collective pressure. In his view, Greece must also revive consumer cooperatives, which could provide an alternative to the current corporate-controlled market. The so-called «free market» he argued, is anything but free. Instead, oligopolies set prices, dictate consumer behavior, and operate without real competition.
