Sklavenitis was founded in 1954 by Yiannis Sklavenitis (1924–1993) and Spyros Sklavenitis (1927–2006), beginning as a wholesale business in Ano Petralona, Athens. Shortly after its establishment, the company relocated to a privately owned facility on Kifisou Avenue in Peristeri. In 1967, the company was formally registered as "I. Sklavenitis & Co. General Partnership."
Under the company's initiative, the telephone-order service TELEXYP was created, marking the first phone-based grocery delivery service in Greece. In 1969, Sklavenitis opened its first supermarket in Peristeri. In 1975, their younger brother Nassos Sklavenitis joined the company. That year also saw the expansion outside of Peristeri with a large store opening in the Kaminia district of Piraeus. In 1979, the first central warehouses were inaugurated, covering 4,500 m2 and including a packaging facility for rice, sugar, and dry goods.
In 1992, the original Peristeri store was renovated, adding a 3,050 m2 exhibition space. In 1998, the company launched its first hypermarket in Nea Chalkidona.
During the early 2000s, the company experienced stagnation. In 2006, 95% of the company shares were acquired by the four children of Spyros Sklavenitis. Growth resumed through acquisitions:
- In 2007, acquisition of Papageorgiou AEE
- In 2010, eleven stores from Atlantic
- In 2013, nine stores from Extra, five from Balaskas, and four from Doukas
In December 2013, the company entered the Cretan market by acquiring 60% of the Halkiadakis chain (formerly part of Veropoulos), which operated 38 stores and employed 940 staff. In 2014, new 30,000 m2 warehouses were opened in Elefsina. In 2015, the company acquired Makro Hellas, which was rebranded as The Mart.
On September 3, 2016, Sklavenitis Group announced the acquisition of Marinopoulos Group after extended negotiations.[1] The acquisition was approved by court on January 16, 2017, and by the Competition Commission on January 26.[2] Until that point, Marinopoulos was the largest supermarket chain in Greece.
On March 1, 2017, Marinopoulos ceased operations, and most of its assets were absorbed by a newly established subsidiary, Hellenic Hypermarkets Sklavenitis S.A., which included all Carrefour Express and Carrefour Marinopoulos stores, excluding those in Northern Greece owned by Karypidis.[3]
In the same year, Sklavenitis also acquired a 55% stake in the Kronos chain, completing the acquisition in 2019.
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched its online supermarket (e-market). In April 2021, it acquired 9 of 11 stores in Ioannina operated by SEP Papadopoulos. At the end of 2022, it purchased 4 stores from the Athens-based Yegos chain (a former ELOMAS member), which were rebranded as Yegos in early 2023. The remaining two stores were sold to Masoutis.
In spring 2023, Sklavenitis acquired all stores of the Thessalian AS Agora chain (formerly part of ELOMAS) located in Larissa and Pieria. That same year, the company opened its first store in Mytilene. Sklavenitis achieved national recognition by ranking 5th on the Forbes 2023 list of top Greek businesses.[4]
In 2024, the group expanded further by acquiring two stores of the Flevaris chain in Rhodes, one store in Asprovalta, and nine stores of the Papantoniou chain in Cyprus.
