DEVELOPMENT TENDENCIES AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE CROATIAN RETAIL TRADE

In this paper, the author reviews the development tendencies in the Croatian retail trade. The author also identifies structural changes of the trading companies in the sense of: operating units format changes (“facilities”), development of the wholesale and retail trade vertical integration, as well as the development of the concentration processes in the retail trade itself (regarding the number, size and importance of retail companies and retail operating units). Additionally, the author points at some possible directions of further development of the connections between the retail trade and the production. In this context, he suggests the development of particular new retail trade formats.