A group of Polish retailers, including Grupa Eurocash, Grupa Chorten, and Netto, have announced plans to form a joint-venture buying alliance to join European Marketing Distribution (EMD) AG, Europe's leading buying and marketing group. The final membership is contingent on receiving merger clearance from Poland's competition authority.
The alliance, once established, would become a significant player in the Polish retail market, representing a combined network of approximately 20,000 stores and generating an annual turnover of over €12 billion. This would position the group as the second-largest retail force in Poland by sales.
Grupa Eurocash operates under well-known retail banners such as Delikatesy Centrum, Lewiatan, Duży Ben, and several partner networks, including ABC, Groszek, Euro Sklep, and Gama. Together with Grupa Chorten and Netto, the alliance seeks to benefit from EMD's joint sourcing strategies and access to an expanded portfolio of private label products and international services for A-brand manufacturers starting in 2026.
The proposed collaboration is expected to enhance the group's European sourcing capabilities, reduce supply chain costs, and reinvest savings into improved value propositions for customers. According to Eurocash CEO Paweł Surowka, "We are extremely pleased to become a member of the strong and partnership-based EMD community. EMD offers us many product ranges and marketing instruments which will enable us to further accelerate our customer-oriented growth in the Polish market."
The EMD Retail Group facilitates cross-border cooperation and marketing solutions in collaboration with global FMCG manufacturers. Its members include notable European retail alliances such as Euromadi Alfa Group (Spain), ESD Italia, Superunie (Netherlands), RTG International (Germany), and Axfood (Sweden), which is also set to join in 2026.
Philippe Gruyters, Managing Director of EMD, welcomed the new Polish alliance, stating, "The new EMD membership of the Polish buying alliance opens up new sourcing opportunities for it and our existing members. With the Polish buying alliance joining our international on-top business, we can further expand our strong offering in the very dynamic Polish market."
Once finalised, the membership will allow the new Polish entity to participate in EMD's collaborative marketing and procurement efforts, particularly in developing and promoting private label products, as well as regional adaptations of leading A-brand goods.
For more information:
Uwe Rosmanith
Donati & Rosmanith
Tel: +49 171 9706644
Email: [email protected]
www.emd-ag.com
