Spanish cooperative retailer and distributor Covirán ended 2017 with 6.3% annual sales growth, as revenues rose to €1.34 billion.
Of this total, close to €120 million corresponds to sales in Portugal, and €1.22 billion to sales in the Spanish market. Both net profit and EBITDA grew by 5%, reaching €1.09 million and €7.87 million, respectively.
There are now a total of 2,500 Covirán supermarkets, of which 2,300 are in Spain and 200 in Portugal, giving the company the second largest store network in Spain and third in Portugal. The retailer has gained market share of 2.76% in Spain and 0.85% in Portugal.
Covirán and its partners invested 34% more in 2017 than in the previous year, for a total of €25.5 million. The cooperative provided €10.5 million of this investment, mostly for the improvement and modernisation of points of sale, as well as technological development.
One of last year’s highlights was the acquisition of Catalan retail group DUSA, adding 90 stores with gross annual sales of €100 million. At present, there are 133 Covirán supermarkets located in Catalonia, a territory considered strategic in the coming years.
To provide better support to its partners, Covirán also opened a new logistics centre in Barcelona and Tenerife last year, taking its total to 29, of which three are located in Portugal.
Sustainability
As part of its sustainability strategy, Covirán is developing a project for responsible points of sale. This includes responsible hiring, combating food waste, improving accessibility, energy efficiency and collaboration with the environment.
Over the past year, Covirán continued with environmental management activities, both in terms of energy efficiency and better use of resources.
Thanks to the installation of new cooling and air conditioning systems and LED lighting, the company achieved a saving of 6.2% in CO2 emissions in 2017. Water consumption was also reduced by 4% compared to 2016.
Future Plans
The year 2018 will be marked by both expansion in Spain, particularly in the Canaries and Catalonia, as well as Morocco.
Covirán will open a pilot store in Tangier during the first half of 2018, to be followed by another point of sale in Tetouan before the end of this year. In a statement to Europa Press, the president of the cooperative, Luis Osuna, explained that the openings will serve to prepare the future strategy for the North African country in 2019.
In Portugal, the company is targeting 450 supermarkets by 2020, which will allow it to increase national market share by up to 1.5%, and to increase the country’s share in total group turnover to more than 12%.
Technological innovations will also be a priority for Covirán. According to Osuna, the company will invest around €5 million to launch an e-commerce channel by the end of 2018.
Covirán will also continue the development of the Clube Família loyalty programme, which currently has 555,000 members in Spain and Portugal, as well as its new store concept, which has so far been deployed in 203 supermarkets.
© 2018 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
