EVALUATION OF THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF FOOD RETAIL OUTLETS IN A MARKET ENVIRONMENT. A CASE STUDY FROM THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

In this paper, food retail stores are evaluated. The aim of the survey is analysis of their financial health using appropriate statistical methods, to analyse the market position of businesses, to identify weaknesses in businesses that may contribute to a poor financial situation, to compare the results obtained and to submit proposals to improve the current financial health of businesses. The analysed sample is made up of a selection of 50 Slovak businesses. The companies operate in the same economic and political system, with similar monetary, customs, tax policy from the government. 4 ratio-based financial analysis indicators were selected as representative (return of assets, return of sales, debt ratio, equity ratio). Multicriterial evaluation methods were used to research the position of businesses on the market (the simple unweighted rank method, the fictional point method, the standardized variable method, the scoring method). We showed the correlations of the methods using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. We found the highest correlation in values between the scoring method and the distance from the fictional point method. However, in all cases, by statistical calculation, we found that there is a strong statistically proven relationship between all the methods used. The degree of indebtedness of a business significantly affects its financial health and the structure of the finances. The lowest value for the debt ratio in the monitored sample of businesses is 12.5%. In the group of the worst performing companies, the debt ratio climbed far above the recommended values of 50–70%. The extreme value was a debt ratio as high as 106.3%. We consider the proposals we present to be universal, applicable in other countries in the given sector.