The German discount chain is leading with an increasing margin. Spar took second place, while the domestic chain CBA finished third.
According to sales data, Lidl has once again claimed the top spot among retail chains selling fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), with Spar in second place and CBA in third, Trade magazine announced on Monday, summarizing the 2025 data.
According to the top list, Lidl’s total gross turnover reached 1,801.6 billion HUF. Competitors were unable to challenge the company’s first-place position, as it further increased its lead to more than 600 billion HUF over the runner-up.
The second-placed Spar also exceeded the total market’s average value-based growth with an expansion of nearly 7 percent, closing last year with a gross turnover of 1,185.5 billion HUF.
Among the most interesting changes, Trade magazine notes that as a result of the merger between CBA and the Kerekes chain, CBA moved into third place—a feat not seen since the 2015 top list, 10 years ago. The company finished 2025 with a gross turnover of 911.0 billion HUF.
According to preliminary data, Tesco came in fourth on the turnover list with 907.4 billion HUF. The change on the podium pushed the COOP chain, which reached a turnover of 887.0 billion HUF, down in the rankings to fifth place.
For the first time this year, Penny, with a turnover of 678.5 billion HUF, surpassed Aldi (644.2 billion HUF) in gross turnover, causing them to swap places on the list. Auchan finished in eighth place, followed by Reál, DM, Rossmann, Ecofamily (Napcsillag), Müller, and DÉL-100.
Zsuzsanna Hermann, editor-in-chief of Trade magazine, which compiles the top list, stated that the best turnover growth in 2025 was achieved by Lidl, DM, and Ecofamily (Napcsillag), all of which continued to show double-digit growth of over 10 percent. The merger of CBA and the Kerekes chain resulted in nearly 25 percent growth for CBA, which reshuffled the previous order on the podium.
Lidl in Hungary: From 2004 to Today
Lidl appeared as a market player in Hungary in 2004, when it opened its first logistics center and 12 stores. Today, the company operates more than 200 stores nationwide, has 4 logistics centers, and employs over 9,500 people. Our archival photo from 2004 shows one of the first stores in Hungary, located in Szombathely.
MTI/Pannonland
