Carrefour Spain will have opened 500 of its convenience based Express stores by the end of 2016, the chain reported last week. This year alone it will have opened 160 new franchises, employing 3,000 people in total across Spain.
A new 'gourmet experience' format, first launched in Madrid, offers more than 5,500 products, including 600 gourmet items. Designed to satisfy more cosmopolitan urban customers, Gourmet Express stores include a wine cellar with more than 250 wines from Spain's wine country. They also offer organic products, international cuisine, and a selection of artisan bread and pastries baked daily on-site.
Many of the new stores opened in CEPSA service stations, allowing customers to buy fuel and do the shopping in one trip.
'The purpose of these stores is to provide users with an alternative shopping outlet without having to leave the service station,' the retailer said.
Many of these stores serve communities with less than 10,000 inhabitants. Families run 85% of the Carrefour Express franchises, while a quarter of the enterprises are managed by young entrepreneurs under the age of 25.
Carrefour Spain also plans to incorporate its first fleet of mega trucks to stock stores before the year ends. The vehicles have the space to carry 18 Europallets in the first link trailer and 34 ones in a semi-trailer.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
