Czech retail market continued to boom in 2001

Czech retail trade recorded a significant sales increase in 2001, according to a recent retail study conducted by the Prague-based research firm Incoma. The report said the top 10 retailers in the Czech Republic - all foreign-owned - posted combined revenues of 180 billion Czech crowns or five billion US dollars last year, up 18 per cent from the previous year. The report also said that the ten largest retailers control about 30 per cent of the Czech Republic's retail business. The report also indicated that Czech shopping habits have changed and almost one third of Czech households prefer hypermarkets for grocery shopping. Czechs have also become more selective about brands and prices, now, twelve years after the fall of the communist regime, infamous for frequent supply shortages.