Retailers Aldi and Covirán are expanding their presence in the Portuguese market, according to reports.
Speaking to daily Jornal Económico, Aldi Portugal’s marketing director, Rita Agostinho, announced that the discounter plans to increase its investment fivefold, to triple the number of stores it operates in Portugal.
The aim is to increase its number of stores from the current 68 to more than 200 in less than five years.
Without revealing any investment figures, Agostinho said Aldi will reach regions of the country where it is not yet present and boost its presence in those areas where it already has outlets.
New Store Concept
Aldi is also implementing a new and modern store concept in its Portuguese stores, known as Aldi Nord Instore Konzept (ANIKO).
By the end of this year, all Aldi Portugal supermarkets will be refurbished and adapted to make the stores more comfortable and modern, focusing on better product identification, simpler organisation and more space for products that customers are most looking for, such as perishables and ready-to-consume items.
Covirán Expands
Elsewhere, Spanish cooperative Covirán opened seven new supermarkets in Portugal in the past three months, in Beja, Braga, Bragança, and Porto Santarém.
This takes its store total to 283, with the retailer now having a presence in 18 districts and the islands of the Azores and Madeira.
Portugal already contributes for 10% of the turnover of the Spanish cooperative, and the supermarket chain has a 0.88% market share, which rises to 2.55% if only stores smaller than 1,000 square metres are taken into account.
As well as Portugal, Covirán is also expanding its activities to other Portuguese-speaking countries. Together with a local partner, the cooperative has just opened its first supermarket on the African continent, in Cape Verde (on the Ilha do Sal), and is also eyeing Guiné-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique.
New Player
Both Aldi and Covirán are boosting investments in Portugal at a time when Mercadona has entered the Portuguese market.
After opening the first four stores in July (all in the district of Porto), the Spanish supermarket chain will inaugurate its first store in the district of Braga (Barcelos) on 26 September.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
