European Supermarket Chains You Should Know
Germany's Schwarz Group, owner of Lidl and Kaufland, is Europe's largest retailer, and the hard-discount model it shares with Aldi now sets prices across the continent. Alongside them trade France's Carrefour, the Netherlands' Ahold Delhaize and organic specialists like Germany's Denn's.
These are the chains that cross borders and shape Europe's food economy — what each is known for, where it operates, how many it employs, and how it responded to the war in Ukraine.
Carrefour
Known for: Hypermarkets and supermarkets under Carrefour, Carrefour Market and Carrefour Express
Employees: ~320,000
Available in: France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Romania, Belgium, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria
Controversies: Accused of sourcing products linked to forced labour
Tesco
Known for: Tesco, Tesco Express, Tesco Extra and F&F clothing
Employees: ~330,000
Available in: UK, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary
Controversies: Lawsuit over forced-labour conditions in Thai supplier factories
Aldi
Known for: Discount stores under Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd; Hofer in Austria and Slovenia
Employees: ~274,000
Available in: Germany, UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, etc.
Controversies: Criticized for poor labor conditions on Spanish produce farms
Lidl
Known for: Discount stores with uniform Lidl branding
Employees: ~376,000
Available in: Almost all EU countries including Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy, Sweden, etc.
Controversies: Allegations of supply chain labor abuses on banana plantations
Kaufland
Known for: Large-format hypermarkets; sister chain to Lidl
Employees: ~155,000
Available in: Germany, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Moldova
Controversies: A 2025 exposé revealed poor hygiene standards in some German stores
Ahold Delhaize
Known for: Albert Heijn, Delhaize, Albert, Maxi, Mega Image and Alfa-Beta
Employees: ~414,000
Available in: Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Romania, Czech Republic, Serbia, Luxembourg
Controversies: Worker strikes in Belgium over store franchising
Spar
Known for: SPAR, Eurospar and Interspar — a franchise model
Employees: ~300,000
Available in: Most EU countries, including Austria, Italy (Despar), Norway and Poland
Controversies: Continued brand presence in Russia via an independent licensee
REWE Group
Known for: REWE, Penny and Billa
Employees: ~390,000
Available in: Germany, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia
Controversies: Alleged labour abuses in banana supply chains (Oxfam complaint)
Metro
Known for: Wholesale cash-and-carry; Metro and Makro
Employees: ~95,000
Available in: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Ukraine, Russia
Controversies: Continued Russian operations led to blacklisting by Ukraine
Auchan
Known for: Hypermarkets under Auchan; Alcampo in Spain
Employees: ~154,000
Available in: France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Russia
Controversies: Continued operations in Russia; accused of supplying the Russian army