Sklavenitis

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Sklavenitis (Greek: Σκλαβενίτης) is a major supermarket chain in Greece. In terms of total market share is the third biggest retail group in Greece behind Carrefour Marinopoulos and the Belgian owned Alpha-Beta Vassilopoulos. The company was founded in 1954 by Ioannis Sklavenitis (1924-1993), Spyros Sklavenitis (1927-2006) and Miltiadis Papadopoulos ( -1999) initially as a wholesaler. The first supermarket was opened in 1969 in the Peristeri suburb of Athens. As of 2007, the company has 38 stores mainly concentrated in the greater Athens area, but it aims to expand nationwide in the near future. The average Sklavenitis store is significantly larger than most of its competitors, thus explaining the company's ability to generate increased sales with a relative small number of stores. The firm still belongs to the Sklavenitis family, although it has been rumoured that international retail giants, such as Tesco and Wal-Mart, are interested in acquiring the company. However the Sklavenitis family have shown no signs that they are willing to consider a takeover bid.