'Norfa' Leads Lithuanian Retail Wage Race Again, Competitors Lag Behind

The wage competition among Lithuania's major retail chains has intensified, with "Norfa" once again taking the lead. According to Dainius Dundulis, the head of "Norfa," the network's performance is a testament to consistent and smart work. He attributes their ability to maintain a leading position and offer the highest salaries in the country's retail sector to efficient process organization, from central administration down to individual store management.

Data from "Sodra" (Lithuanian social insurance) for June reveals that the median salary for "Norfa" employees who worked the entire month reached 2107 euros. Dundulis emphasizes that this median figure is particularly representative of the earnings of sales floor staff and cashiers, as it is calculated after excluding the lowest and highest 25% of salaries. This method provides a clearer picture of the typical employee's income.

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The results of my network are an assessment of consistent and smart work. Efficient process organization from central administration to the heads of individual departments allows the network, which manages 161 stores, to maintain its leading position and pay the highest salaries in the country's retail sector.

Following closely behind "Norfa" was the "Lidl" chain, with a median salary of 2047 euros in June, approximately 3% or 60 euros lower. Other major retailers showed more significant disparities. "Iki" reported a median of 1589 euros (a 33% gap), "Maxima" at 1553 euros (36% gap), and "Rimi" at 1495 euros (41% gap). "Norfa" also reported higher wages even for its lowest-earning employees, with the 25th percentile salary at 1726 euros, compared to "Lidl's" 1558 euros and lower figures for the other chains.

Dundulis also pointed out the misleading nature of overall average salary figures, noting that earnings can vary within the same chain based on productivity and management quality. He urged attention to the standard deviation, which indicates the gap between a few managers and the rest of the staff. "Lidl" recorded the highest standard deviation in June at 3625 euros, significantly higher than "Norfa's" 787 euros. Dundulis also raised concerns about "Lidl's" practice of reporting income from author contracts, sports, or artistic activities separately, suggesting it as a method to "optimize" taxes by paying employees through individual activity certificates rather than standard employment contracts, thereby reducing contributions to the state.

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Social insurance data on salaries paid in June shows that the median wage for our employees who worked the entire month reached 2107 euros. This indicator best reflects the earnings of sales floor staff and cashiers, as it is calculated by excluding the bottom and top 25% of earners' salaries.