EMD-Membership Brings New Opportunities for Grupa Eurocash, Grupa Chorten and Netto in the Polish Retail Market
Pfäffikon, Switzerland – On Friday, July 18th, 2025, it was announced that three major Polish retailers, Grupa Eurocash, Grupa Chorten, and Netto, have joined forces to establish a local joint-venture buying alliance and become members of European Marketing Distribution (EMD) AG, the leading European buying alliance. This move is expected to strengthen EMD’s international market position.
The final approval for the merger is subject to clearance from the Polish competition authority. Once approved, the new EMD members will be able to expand their European sourcing capabilities, resulting in significant cost savings and allowing them to invest more in their customer offerings.
The new EMD member, to be created by Grupa Eurocash, Grupa Chorten, and Netto, will become the largest buying group in Poland, with a combined market presence of approximately 20,000 stores and an annual turnover of over 12 billion Euros. This will make them the second-largest retail sales group in the country.
Upon receiving clearance from the Polish competition authority and establishing the joint-venture company, the new members will join EMD’s joint sourcing of Private Label products and have access to the organization’s on-top services for international A-brand manufacturers, starting in 2026.
Pawel Surowka, CEO of Eurocash, expressed his excitement about becoming a member of the EMD community, stating, “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 partnership with EMD also presents new opportunities for manufacturers in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. With EMD’s focus on procurement and marketing of private label products, the organization’s members also collaborate with leading multinational A-brand manufacturers to implement cross-border services and marketing concepts.
The Polish buying alliance, once approved by the antimonopoly clearance, will partner with selected prominent and successful retail companies in their respective home countries, including Euromadi Alfa Group from Spain, ESD Italia, Superunie from the Netherlands, RTG International, a German group of retailers, and retailer Axfood from Sweden, who will also join the group in 2026.
The core tasks for the EMD Retail Group members and new member are clearly defined: promoting and marketing established and highly sought-after top brand products (including country-specific innovations and variations of these A-brands) that are essential for customers in international retail. The EMD Retail Group cooperates with the most renowned manufacturers in the industry, including these A-brands.
Philippe Gruyters, Managing Director of EMD, commented on the new membership, 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.”
Headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, European Marketing Distribution (EMD) AG has been recognized in the consumer goods industry as an efficient and powerful partner for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) since 1989. They specialize in developing and procuring highly efficient and sustainably produced private label concepts for the benefit of consumers, as well as supporting and realizing global partnerships with the largest brand manufacturers.
EMD currently has 16 member companies in Europe and Asia, representing an external retail consumer turnover of approximately 200 billion Euros in 16 countries. These include Austria’s MARKANT, the Netherlands’ Superunie, Belgium’s Colruyt, Norway’s Unil/NorgesGruppen, Czech Republic’s MARKANT, Portugal’s EuromadiPort, Denmark’s Dagrofa, Slovakia’s MARKANT, France’s Francap, South Korea’s Lotte, Germany’s RTG International, Spain’s Euromadi, Italy’s ESD Italia, Sweden’s Dagab/Axfood, Luxemburg’s Colruyt, and Switzerland’s MARKANT.
In addition to South Korea and Japan, associate member Lotte is also active in the Vietnamese and Indonesian markets.
For further information:
Donati & Rosmanith
Uwe Rosmanith
Triq ir-Rumani, 3
Xlendi, XLN1431
Malta
Phone: +356 77362849
Phone: +49 171 9706644
uwe@rosmanith.de
rosmanith@bettercommunications.mt
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.