International retail alliances saw significant movement in the past few months. With inflation putting pressure on margins and price competition growing fiercer, more retailers are joining forces with others to gain scale and negotiate better terms with suppliers.
EMD counts 13 members, with 56,000 stores across 16 countries. The alliance focuses on sourcing private label products and on negotiating on-top conditions with major brand manufacturers. Some long-time members include Markant, Colruyt, and Superunie, but there have been recent changes. Kaufland left the group about a year ago, while Germany’s purchasing organisation Retail Trade Group, RTG, joined. Since then, the French alliance Francap signed on, followed by Denmark’s Dagrofa. Most recently, three Polish retailers — Eurocash, Chorten and Netto — announced plans to join, and Sweden’s Axfood and Finnish S Group are expected to come on board next year.
Adding new dynamics to the market, Vasco International Trading was launched this spring by Superunie, Coop Switzerland and Colruyt. Vasco is built specifically to negotiate "on-top" purchasing conditions agreements with major groups.
The Concordis alliance was announced this summer by Carrefour and Cooperative U, it welcomed Germany’s purchasing organisation Retail Trade Group, RTG, a month later. The alliance will start in 2026, with the mission of improving the conditions negotiated with multinational suppliers of national brands.
These changes, in the past few months alone, show how dynamic and complex the world of retail alliances has become. Notably absent from this shuffling are Aldi and Lidl, who by virtue of their massive international scale and consistent expansion can rely entirely on their own buying power without joining any alliance.