Retail giants such as Spar, Aldi and Tesco may quit Hungary this year

Tamás Kozák, general secretary of the National Association of Traders (OKSZ), remarked in a recent interview that such a decision would not be taken in Budapest. Yet in a country where anti-multinational rhetoric runs rampant and expected profits fail to materialise, thanks to special levies and price caps, it could well happen. Tesco, Spar, and Aldi have previously reported staggering losses in Hungary, though Lidl, by contrast, remains in the black.

OKSZ chief sounds the alarm

Viktor Orbán never misses an opportunity, at every forum, to boast that his government funds family protection schemes, family support, and utility bill cuts by extracting “excess profits” from banks and multinationals. A moot point, of course, whether this so-called “excess profit” (or windfall tax, if you prefer) bears scrutiny in any ledger—and to what extent the multinationals pass these extra taxes on to shoppers (experience suggests they do).

The OKSZ chief spoke more candidly still about the very real risk that a multinational on the scale of Tesco or Spar could pull out of Hungary within the next two or three years, driven by the hostile climate and paltry returns. He added that any such verdict would emanate not from Budapest, but from head office.

In his view, the departure of any firm would cramp competition and, ultimately, harm consumers. This rings especially true when set against the dubious blessings of the Russian Mere chain’s arrival in Hungary, which could scarcely compensate for the loss of a Spar or Aldi in terms of customer experience or product range.

The general secretary roundly condemned the government’s price caps, branding them a toxic policy that does the public no favours.

Multinationals reel from huge Hungarian losses

According to HVG, Spar’s Austrian parent was forced to inject 30 billion forints in equity to cover the firm’s losses and avert insolvency. The company states that the retail levy (at 4.5 per cent, tantamount to an effective VAT rate of 31.5 per cent on groceries in such stores) inflicted a 32.4 billion forint hit in 2024 alone, with monthly price controls piling on another 1.5 to 2 billion forints.

No figures have emerged for 2025, but losses on a par with 2024’s could have depleted Spar Hungary’s equity without fresh capital. Even so, the company insists it will press ahead with investments.

Zsolt Pálinkás, head of Tesco Hungary, told Pénzcentrum that the moment is ripe to scrap the price caps. He deems them pointless in any case, given the savage losses racking the retail sector.

Store closures already underway

Investment expert Ferenc Faragó—who publishes regular analyses under the moniker Vakmajom on Facebook—contends that Spar, Tesco, and Aldi stomach these vast losses only because they anticipate the Orbán regime’s imminent collapse. He stops short of pondering what happens if Fidesz endures (the most likely outcome, say some analysts). He does, however, flag store closures looming in the poorest regions.

Just days ago, it emerged that Spar’s Oroszlány outlet will shutter mid-month. The decision prompted outrage from both the local Fidesz mayor and a Fidesz councillor, the latter launching a one-man boycott.

HVG’s tally shows Tesco losing 32 billion forints and Aldi 37 billion over 2023-2024.

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