Service Station Retailing in Bulgaria 2011

Based on Verdict Retail's proprietary market data and insight into key fuel retailers, this brief provides you with an up-to-date picture of the fuel retailing market in Bulgaria. In addition to outlining service station numbers, fuel sales, competitor shares, and fuel and site forecasts, it also details retailers' c-store, car wash, and unmanned site numbers with an overview of their product offerings.

• Benchmark your service station retail offer against the major national players in the sector by examining their number of sites, shops and car washes.
• Develop new marketing ideas for your service station shop, car wash and card propositions by examining the activities of key players across Bulgaria.
• Make informed pitches to potential partners by gaining insights into the major retailers’ networks, market shares, fuel throughputs, and future plans.
• Assess overall market entry potential by accessing key market indicators including registered cars, national fuel volumes, and average prices.

In Bulgaria, the total number of service stations increased by 12% to 3,142 sites in the year to January 2011. In 2010, total fuel volume sales in Bulgaria dropped by a dramatic 17.2% on the previous year, as sales of both petrol and diesel fell significantly.

The top five fuel players in Bulgaria by fuel sales account for only 27.9% of all service stations in the country, making it a very fragmented market. Petrol Bulgaria is the largest player in terms of site numbers, with 11.8% of outlets operating under its brand.

Service station shops are present at 68% of sites in Bulgaria. The total number of sites with a shop in Bulgaria rose by 13% in the year to January 2011, in line with the rise of the total number of service stations. The service station car wash market is quite underdeveloped, with less than 5% of sites featuring a car wash.

• Who are the top five players in the Bulgarian service station retail market and how many sites, shops, and car washes do they have?
• What is the market share and average fuel throughput per site of the top five players in Bulgaria?
• How is the service station network evolving and which players are opening new outlets, as well as increasing forecourt shops and car washes?
• What strategies do the key players have across their fuel and non-fuel offerings in terms of products sold, branding, partnerships and suppliers used?

Table of contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
•Verdict Retail view
•Key findings
•Main conclusions
Fewer UK consumers are shopping for clothing for the third consecutive year
25–54s shop less for clothing
Males and more mature shoppers have become more loyal
Range remains the key driver of loyalty in 2012, though price and quality have gained importance
Store environment has become more important to shoppers
•Retailer highlights
Bonmarché's visitor share is up for the second consecutive year
Conversion rate success for male shoppers at H&M
Competitor expansion threatens New Look
Tesco is appealing more to older shoppers
A rise in ABs and C1s has led to an increase in main user share, ranking Debenhams in fifth place
Efforts to improve fashionability result in a small uplift in younger shopper penetration at M&S
Next's visitor share has fallen, but the retailer has hung onto second place
Primark has moved into second place in terms of main user share, boosted by a rise in male shoppers
River Island has opportunities to gain from its footwear offer
Matalan has improved conversion rates
Price remains the key loyalty driver for TK Maxx
Asda appeals to younger shoppers

SECTOR SUMMARY
•Share of shoppers
Shopping for clothing declines in
•Penetration of clothing shoppers
All demographic groups shop less for clothing
•Retailer usage
H&M and Bonmarché grow visitor and main user share in
Main user share by region
•Conversion rates
Retailers become more successful in converting footfall into high spending customers
•Shopping around
Shopping around falls in
•Loyalty
Males and mature shoppers become more loyal
•Drivers of loyalty/ disloyalty
Price and quality become more important to clothing shoppers

ASDA
•Despite a fall in visitor share, Asda's conversion rate and loyalty have improved
Footfall declines
Asda appeals to younger shoppers
Loyalty is driven by price
•Visitors
Asda has recorded the greatest loss in visitor share out of all profiled retailers
•Main users
Asda's overall main user share has declined
•Conversion rates
Asda has recorded improvements in terms of younger shopper conversion
•Loyalty
Asda has the fourth highest loyalty score of all retailers profiled
•Competitors
Primark and Matalan continue to threaten

BONMARCHÉ
•Attracting new visitors, but struggling to convert them into high-spending customers
Bonmarché's visitor share is up for the second consecutive year
Conversion rates have fallen as Bonmarché's main user share only marginally improves
Loyalty has slipped, caused by a drop in range and price satisfaction
•Visitors
Bonmarché's visitor share has returned to the level recorded in
•Main users
Despite a marginal improvement, Bonmarché's main user share remains the lowest of all HBS clothing retailers
•Conversion rates
Struggles to convert visitors into high spending shoppers
•Loyalty
Bonmarché's loyalty score has fallen, as has its ranking
•Competitors
Main users are shopping around less in

DEBENHAMS
•Designer collections have boosted Debenhams' share and loyalty of more affluent shoppers
Debenhams' visitor share has fallen for the second consecutive year…
…but a rise in ABs and C1s has led to an increase in main user share, ranking it in fifth place
Debenhams' loyalty score has risen by 5.2 percentage points, driven by improvements in price and quality
•Visitors
Debenhams' visitor share has fallen for the second consecutive year
•Main users
Debenhams' main user share has risen, ranking it fifth overall
•Conversion rates
Debenhams achieved the fourth best conversion rate in
•Loyalty
Main user loyalty has risen by 5.2 percentage points to 81.3%
•Competitors
Customers shop around more in

H&M
•H&M has gained record levels of visitors and main users
H&M has made the highest gains in footfall, but ranks second from bottom
Highest penetration of main users are 16–24s
Conversion rate success for male shoppers
Loyalty falls marginally
•Visitors
H&M is ranked top in terms of visitor share growth
•Main users
H&M's main user share hits a new high
•Conversion rates
Conversion rates are higher for male shoppers
•Loyalty
?H&M's loyalty score has fallen, but it remains top of clothing retailers
•Competitors
?Shopping around has increased, as M&S and Primark threaten

MARKS & SPENCER
•M&S is under pressure as its competitors make advances
M&S's visitor share has fallen by 0.9 percentage points in 2012, but the retailer retains the top spot
There has been a slight improvement in main user penetration after a 1.3 percentage point drop in
M&S's loyalty score has shrunk, but DEs have become more loyal to the retailer's clothing offer
M&S's department store competitors are the preferred stores for its disloyal main users
•Visitors
M&S's visitor share has dropped off for the second year
•Main users
M&S has made little headway in regaining main user share
•Conversion rates
M&S has improved its success rate in converting visitors to high-spending customers
•Loyalty
The loyalty of M&S' main users has declined, with the retailer falling two places to rank third
•Competitors
Shopping around has increased in

MATALAN
•Matalan's main user share remains level, resulting from improved conversion rates
Matalan's footfall has decreased marginally
Higher conversion rates
Loyalty towards Matalan has increased above the sector average
An opportunity in footwear remains
•Visitors
Footfall has risen among 16–24 year olds
•Main users
Matalan's main user share had remained level from
•Conversion rates
Conversion rates rebound slightly
•Loyalty
Matalan ranks second, behind H&M, in terms of loyalty in
•Competitors
Argos is most used for homewares among Matalan's main users

NEW LOOK
•New Look has lost footfall as the competition has intensified in the value market
The retailer's visitor share has decreased for the first time since
New Look must focus on its menswear offer
Price has become a key driver of loyalty
Competitor expansion threatens
•Visitors
Footfall is down across all age groups
•Main users
New Look has lost female main users
•Conversion rates
New Look's conversion rate has fallen for the third consecutive year
•Loyalty
New Look's loyalty score has dipped for the first time in five years
•Competitors
Shopping around continues to fall

NEXT
•Intensifying competition has made it tough for Next to improve its visitor and main user share
Next's visitor share has fallen, but the retailer has hung onto second place
Next's main user share has dropped to 7.4%, but penetration among younger shoppers has improved
Range has become a more important driver of loyalty
Next's scores for service should improve
•Visitors
Next's visitor share fell for the fourth consecutive year
•Main users
Next's main user share has fallen, resulting in the retailer losing second place to Primark
•Conversion rates
Next has found it tough to convert visitors into high-spending shoppers
•Loyalty
Loyalty has declined in 2012, with Next falling from fourth place to ninth
•Competitors
Next's main users use fewer retailers for clothing

PRIMARK
•Younger shoppers have become less loyal to Primark
Primark's visitor share has declined, despite a store rollout
Primark has moved into second place in terms of main user share, boosted by a rise in male shoppers
Loyalty has dropped, particularly across younger shoppers
Disloyal users favour Peacocks the most, but Primark could stand to benefit from this
•Visitors
Primark's visitor share has fallen for the second consecutive year
•Main users
Primark's main user share has risen, claiming second place from Next
•Conversion rates
Primark has succeeded in converting visitors into high-spending shoppers
•Loyalty
Primark's main users' loyalty has declined for the third consecutive year
•Competitors
Shopping around has declined among Primark's main users

RIVER ISLAND
•River Island's customer base has dwindled but 16–24s have become more loyal
River Island's visitor share has fallen across all age groups
Overall loyalty has declined, but 16-24s have become more loyal to River Island
Opportunities to gain from footwear offer
•Visitors
Both male and female visitor shares declined in 2012 for River Island
•Main users
River Island's share has declined among younger shoppers
•Conversion rates
River Island's conversion rates have rebounded, but have not reached 2010's level
•Loyalty
Loyalty has risen among 16–24 year olds
•Competitors
River Island's main users shop around more

TESCO
•Tesco has built loyalty among mature shoppers
Tesco has recorded its lowest visitor share of the five-year period
The retailer's conversion rate has risen, driven by female shoppers
Tesco is appealing more to older shoppers
Loyalty has dipped but price remains the key driver
•Visitors
Tesco's visitor share has fallen to its lowest level in five years
•Main users
Tesco recorded its biggest losses in terms of main user share among 16–34 year olds
•Conversion rates
Tesco's conversion rate has risen above the 2010 level
•Loyalty
Price remains the major loyalty driver for Tesco
•Competitors
Shopping around has decreased

TK MAXX
•TK Maxx has gained resonance among young shoppers
TK Maxx's visitor and main user shares have declined
The retailer's overall conversion rate has fallen, but increased among 16–24 year olds
Price remains the key loyalty driver for TK Maxx
•Visitors
TK Maxx's visitor share dropped for under 45s but increased for 45–64 year olds
•Main users
TK Maxx's share has risen among 16–24 year olds
•Conversion rates
The conversion rate has increased marginally across both male and female visitors
•Loyalty
Female main users drive loyalty
•Competitors
Opportunities in footwear

APPENDIX
•Methodology
Selection of parliamentary constituencies
Selection of enumeration districts
Selection of respondents
Post survey weighting
•Ask the analyst
•Global Retail FreeView
•Verdict Retail Research consulting
•Disclaimer

TABLES
•Table: Profile of clothing shoppers – by region
•Table: Percentage of active clothing shoppers regularly using each retailer, 2008–12
•Table: Percentage of active clothing shoppers regularly using each retailer, 2008–12
•Table: Share of active clothing shoppers naming a retailer as their main store (%), by TV region,
•Table: Average rate of conversion from visitor to main user, by TV region,
•Table: Average number of other stores used, by TV region,
•Table: Percentage of clothing shoppers that are loyal to their main store, by TV region,
•Table: Detailed drivers of loyalty,
•Table: Clothing loyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: Clothing loyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: Clothing disloyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: Clothing loyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: What disloyal users preferred about other clothing stores, 2008–12
•Table: What disloyal users preferred about other clothing stores, 2008–12
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other clothing stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Sample sizes by sector

FIGURES
•Figure: Clothing share of shoppers 2008–12
•Figure: Profile of clothing shoppers (%) by gender, 2008–12
•Figure: Profile of clothing shoppers (%) by age bracket, 2008–12
•Figure: Profile of clothing shoppers (%) by socioeconomic class, 2008–12
•Figure: Percentage of consumers who shop for clothing, by demographics,
•Figure: Percentage of consumers who shop for clothing, by TV region,
•Figure: Concentration of main user share of top five retailers in
•Figure: Concentration of main user share of top five retailers in
•Figure: Concentration of main user share of top five retailers in
•Figure: Average rate of conversion from visitor to main user (%), 2008–12
•Figure: Rate of conversion from visitor to main user (%), by retailer
•Figure: Average number of other stores used, by retailer,
•Figure: Average number of other stores used,
•Figure: Percentage of clothing shoppers that are loyal to their main store, 2008–12
•Figure: Percentage of clothing shoppers that are loyal to their main store, by demographic group,
•Figure: Percentage of clothing shoppers that are loyal to their main store, by retailer,
•Figure: Percentage point change in loyalty rates since last year, by retailer,
•Figure: Percentage of loyal main users identifying drivers of loyalty, 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around 2012

Related research categories

By sector: Retail (in Off-trade)

By market: Bulgaria (in Europe)