COVID-19 : challenges and opportunities for the grocery retail industry in Malta

Abstract

This dissertation is being written in time where clarity is needed. As the title suggests, the purpose of it is to identify patterns within the industry. This is being done by highlighting challenges and the opportunities experienced by grocery retailers due to COVID-19. This dissertation starts of by giving a historical overview into the EU’s Industrial Policy and how this has formed throughout the years. This is followed by a literary review of the European Green Deal and the way it is shaping European policy moving forward, particularly in view of sustainable industry. This analysis is being done in two ways: (i) one-to-one interviews with leading grocery retailers in Malta, and (ii) using secondary data available to provide more details and present other examples. These two methods were instrumental in understanding how this industry operated during the pandemic, what trends arose and what the industry needs to do to switch gears in a post COVID-19 world. The most interesting part of the pandemic is still ongoing. Due to the many variables that may influence further waves of infection, due to the variations and despite a steady vaccination roll-out programme in most nations, the outcome of this pandemic is still unknown. The dissertation will conclude by providing the key points that emerged during the one-to-one interviews and that were fortified by further analysis.