The rapid expansion of international retail chains in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector raises concerns about the long-term viability of traditional regional consumer co-operatives, which play an important economic and social role in Czech regions. Understanding firm-level economic differences is essential for assessing sustainability, competitiveness, and policy implications. The article aimed to identify and explain differences in economic performance between regional consumer co-operatives and international retail chains in Czechia, with particular emphasis on market share dynamics and the determinants of competitive advantage. The study employed financial ratio analysis, correlation analysis, and fixed-effects panel regression. The dataset consisted of audited financial statements of seven major consumer co-operatives and seven leading international retail chains over the period 2005-2024. The results showed that international retail chains significantly outperformed consumer co-operatives in sales growth, labour productivity, and market share expansion. While co-operatives doubled their sales over the observed period, retail chains nearly tripled theirs. Labour productivity in co-operatives grew more slowly and remained less than half that of chains, contributing to persistently higher personnel cost ratios. Regression results confirmed a strong positive relationship between market share and labour productivity, as well as between market share and leverage, while higher cost ratios are associated with lower market shares. Co-operatives exhibit lower indebtedness, but their conservative capital structures result in lower returns on equity than international chains. Profitability improvements among co-operatives were driven by favourable macroeconomic conditions and extraordinary events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than structural efficiency gains. The findings can inform management strategies of regional co-operatives, highlighting the need for productivity-enhancing investments, digitalisation, and deeper integration in purchasing and logistics. Policymakers may also use the results when designing measures to support sustainable regional retail structures
Froulík et al. (Mon,) studied this question.