RETAIL RESTRICTIVENESS ANALYSIS IN EASTERN EUROPE RETAIL RESTRICTIVENESS ANALYSIS IN EASTERN EUROPE | Page 17

3.2.
OPERATION AND COMPETITION PILLAR
Restrictions for operations and especially regulation on competition is the area where Belarus, Russia and
Moldova are much more restrictive compared to their EU counterparts. With 3.7 points as compared to an
average of 2.0, Belarus is by far the most regulated market in this respect. On the other end of the
spectrum, Lithuania has ranked as least regulated with 1 point, which is attributed to the liberalized
regulations on shop opening hours, sales promotions and prices.
FIGURE 10: COUNTRY SCORES COMPARISON ON “OPERATION AND COMPETITION” PILLAR (0 – THE LEAST
REGULATED COUNTRY, 6 – THE MOST REGULATED ONE)
Source: Civitta analysis, 2019
SHOP OPENING HOURS
The regulation of shop opening hours is mostly typical for the EU countries, but the rules can vary
significantly. In Spain 40 and Germany 41 , the state or the regions can regulate the total amount of opening
hours per week. In addition, in Spain regional authorities set the maximum number of working Sundays for
all the other shops 42 . Spain, Germany and Poland also restrict the extent of Sunday when only some shops
are allowed to be open. In Italy 43 , opening hours used to be regulated in the past, but as a part of the
liberalisation, these rules were abolished. In Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Serbia and Moldova
opening hours are not regulated at all.
DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIFIC PRODUCTS
All the analysed countries limit the sales of tobacco, alcohol or over-the-counter medicines. Only in
Poland 44 retailer outlets are allowed to sell non-prescription medicines outside of pharmacies without
additional requirements. In Lithuania, Italy and Germany 45 OTC drugs can be sold outside of pharmacies
but only with additional conditions. In Belarus, Spain 46 , Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Russia 47 , Serbia, Moldova
40
http://www.comercio.gob.es/es-es/comercio-interior/ordenacion-del-comercio/paginas/regulacion-de-los-horarios-comerciales-.aspx,
http://www.comercio.gob.es/es-ES/comercio-interior/Ordenacion-del-Comercio/Documents/Aspectos%20basicos%20regulacion%20horarios%20comerciales.pdf
41
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ladschlg/__3.html, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ladschlg/BJNR008750956.html,
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ladschlg/__3.html
42
No regulations for: confectionery, bread, ready-made, press, flower stores and gas stations; shops in auto stations and transport hubs; certain 24/7 shops; shops in special tourist areas; shops
in border points; other shops less than 300 m2, excluding those related to companies which are considered small or medium enterprises
43
https://www.ilpost.it/2018/09/09/di-maio-liberalizzazioni-negozi-domenica/
44
NPM: Article 71 of https://www.lexlege.pl/prawo-farmaceutyczne,
Alcohol: http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19820350230/U/D19820230Lj.pdf,
Tobacco: http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20160001331/T/D20161331L.pdf
45
Tobacco: https://www.haendlerbund.de/de/downloads/verkauf-von-tabakprodukten.pdf,
Alcohol: https://www.kenn-dein-limit.info/gesetzliche-regelungen.html
46
https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2018/05/08/companias/1525789233_318231.html, https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2005-21261,
http://sid.usal.es/leyes/discapacidad/5161/3-2-1/ley-5-2002de-27-de-junio-sobre-drogodependencias-y-otros-trastornos-adictivos.aspx, https://www.abc.es/20101220/local-madrid/alcohol-
madrid-201012201747.html
47
https://www.kp.ru/guide/kak-otkryt-produktovyi-magazin.html,
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