The five retail chains with the highest sales revenue in Estonia's general merchandise store segment are Coop, Selver, Maxima, Rimi and Grossi Toidukaubad. Of these, both Coop and Selver saw a 1 percent decline in revenue last year. Prisma's revenue dropped by more than 6 percent, while Rimi's grew by 2.5 percent.

OG Elektra, which operates under the Grossi Toidukaubad brand, saw a significantly larger increase in turnover: last year, its sales revenue reached €252.6 million — up 10.1 percent compared to 2023. However, net profit dropped by 34 percent to nearly €11.7 million.

The company attributed the drop in net profit primarily to extraordinary income received in 2023 from reselling electricity and selling fixed assets. When those one-off revenues are excluded, last year's result was still slightly lower than in 2023. In its annual report, the company notes that it absorbed the impact of the value-added tax increase at the expense of its own profitability.

Last year, Grossi invested €15.9 million in fixed assets, funding the investments entirely from its own resources without taking on any loans.

As of the end of last year, OG Elektra owned 82 food and convenience stores, along with two industrial goods stores. The company also operates its own cold storage facility, a logistics center and an extension housing a bonded warehouse and a distribution depot.

Three new stores were opened over the year, and plots were acquired for future expansion.

OG Elektra employed 1,200 full-time staff in 2024, with an average age of 43. Total labor costs, including social taxes, amounted to €26.8 million.

As of the end of last year, the company's retained earnings stood at €139.6 million. OG Elektra is solely owned by businessman Oleg Gross.

Maxima also managed to grow its revenue by nearly 1 percent in 2024, reaching €599 million, up from €593 million the previous year. Its net profit, however, dropped from €11.7 million to €7.3 million.

At the end of the year, Maxima operated 85 stores. The company cited high inflation, rising interest rates, and Lidl's expansion into Estonia as negative influences on its operations in 2023. However, inflation eased and interest rates declined in 2024.

Maxima sees the biggest challenges in retail as declining sales volumes and the increase in the VAT rate at the beginning of the year. According to the chain, the market remains under pressure due to intense and growing competition, persistent wage pressure and the fact that while global raw material prices may fall, purchase prices in Estonia usually do not.

"Due to increasingly intense competition among retail chains for market share, Maxima's share of promotional sales rose significantly compared to 2023. Nonetheless, the company still managed to grow its revenue," the annual report stated.

At the end of the year, Maxima employed 2,937 active and inactive workers, with total labor costs amounting to €56.5 million in 2024.

The company paid €3 million in dividends last year and had €22.3 million in retained earnings as of the end of December.

Among smaller chains, A1M OÜ, which operates the A1000 Market stores, stood out with strong performance. The chain, which had 15 stores at the end of the fiscal year, increased its revenue by 27 percent to €69 million. It posted a profit of €1.4 million.

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