Spanish cooperative Coviran opened four new supermarkets in Portugal between September and December 2019, giving it a year-end total of 283 outlets in the country.
The new stores are located in Santarém, Porto, Setúbal, and Lisbon.
Presently, the Spanish company is present in 18 districts of Portugal and two autonomous island regions of Azores and Madeira. It has a 0.88% market share of the Portuguese retail sector.
New Concept
After positive market feedback in Spain, Coviran rolled out the Coviran Plus store format in Portugal in 2019.
The retailer also opened its first store outside the Iberian Penninsula, last year, in Espargos in Cape Verde. The store sources products from Covirán’s distribution centre in Sintra in Portugal.
Competition
Coviran’s expansion in Portugal comes at a time when Mercadona is also upping its presence in the country.
Since its launch in Portugal last September, Mercadona has opened ten stores in the country in Braga, Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia, Gondomar, Porto, Ovar, and São João da Madeira.
In 2020, the retail giant aims to launch ten new stores in northern Portugal, and has set a long-term goal of opening 150-200 stores in the country.
Elsewhere, Aldi has planned a fivefold increase in investments in Portugal, intending to open more than 200 stores in the coming years.
Presently, it operates around 73 stores, and it opened 11 new supermarkets in 2019, with the latest openings located in Vila do Conde and Guimarães.
© 2020 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.
