The takeover of 178 Tegut supermarkets by retail giant Edeka is raising concerns among industry experts. “It is painful for competition that another retailer disappears from the market,” said the President of the Monopolies Commission, Tomaso Duso, and warned of excessive market concentration and thus disadvantages for consumers. “The authorities will now have to pay even more attention to ensuring that the big four do not drive up prices or prevent innovation.” The big four mean Edeka, Rewe, Aldi and the Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland.
This week, the Federal Cartel Office gave the green light for Edeka to take over numerous Tegut locations. However, Edeka had to scale down its plan somewhat - the retail chain is initially only allowed to take on 178 Tegut stores, which is 24 fewer than planned. According to the Cartel Office's assessment, this will prevent the takeover from causing any deterioration for consumers in the affected regions. The Swiss cooperative Migros Zurich announced in March that it wanted to sell Tegut.
Edeka reacts to statements
When asked, the grocer Edeka rejected the criticism. “The Federal Cartel Office carefully examined the takeover in each individual regional sales market and determined for all approved Tegut branches that competition in their area would not be impaired,” says a spokesman. A stricter standard was applied than in the past. “With the takeover, we are securing around 3,700 jobs and training positions and maintaining local supplies close to home.”
Philipp Hennerkes, general manager of the Federal Association of the German Food Trade, says: “If retailers do not convince consumers sufficiently, they will leave the market due to a lack of profitability.” Then it would be to everyone's advantage if other traders continued to operate markets.
The Edeka takeover package also includes the Tegut logistics center in Hünfeld-Michelsrombach, the Herzberger bakery and the 41 staffless “Teo” mini markets.
Four major companies dominate the food retail sector
The Monopolies Commission still has doubts. The four major retail chains in Germany already account for more than 90 percent of the local food retail sales, according to the independent advisory committee. “A central area of supply in Germany is therefore in the hands of only four companies,” says Professor Duso.
The prices for some of the range are largely the same and the companies can adjust to each other quite easily in a very transparent market. The suppliers, in turn, are dependent on the big four and there could be “abuse of buyer power”. The suppliers shied away from conflict with the big four. This makes it difficult for authorities to stop such abuses.
The Monopolies Commission had already warned of a high and increasing concentration in the food retail sector in a special report at the end of 2025.
The decision for Rewe is still pending
The Federal Cartel Office has been investigating the planned takeover of Tegut branches since March. During the course of the proceedings, the competition authorities had already pointed out that the high concentration in the food retail sector alone was not sufficient under antitrust law to prohibit a merger. “It cannot be deduced from this alone that the four large trading groups collectively dominate the food retail sector in Germany,” said President Andreas Mundt at the end of July. The investigations did not reveal any evidence of a lack of effective competition.
Tegut has around 300 locations in this country. Other German retail chains also want to acquire and continue to operate branches. The smart store chain Tante Enso received approval for 36 supermarkets in June. The Rewe Group also wants to take over up to 40 branches. The decision is still pending. It is still unclear what will become of the remaining Tegut locations.
Tegut was founded in Fulda in 1947 and has been part of the Migros Group since 2013. The chain is represented in six federal states, most of the markets are in Hesse. According to Migros, Tegut employs almost 7,500 people. The brand should be abandoned.
