Spanish retailer Eroski has announced that it opened 58 franchise stores in 2019. The move resulted in an investment of more than €8.7 million and generated 346 new jobs, the retailer said.
In 2019, Eroski's franchised supermarket network reported sales growth of 5%, mainly driven by new openings and good customer response to its 'Contigo' ('With You') business model.
Regional Expansion
The retailer added that it opened the maximum number of stores in the autonomous communities in Spain, including 17 in Catalonia, eight in Galicia, and seven in Basque Country.
In Castile and León and the Balearic Islands, the retailer rolled out five new franchises each, while Andalusia, Valencian Community, and Madrid saw three new openings.
Eroski also opened franchises in Aragón, Castilla La Mancha, Cantabria, La Rioja, and Navarra.
Over the past six years, the retailer has opened more than 300 franchised stores. It aims to open 60 franchise outlets in 2020.
In the coming years, Eroski's franchise network expansion will focus on Andalusia, Madrid, Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura, and Levante, the retailer added.
'Healthy And Consolidated Network'
Franchise director of the company, Enrique Martínez, commented, "It is very important to grow, but even more to have a healthy and consolidated network, so we are very rigorous in the selection of locations and the profiles of potential franchisees.
"The Eroski franchises are ultra-proximity supermarkets of about 150 to 400 square-metres, which integrate the local product of each geographical area, with a wide assortment of fresh products and food and offer close and reliable attention through our franchisees."
Store Profile
The Eroski franchise stores operate under several banners, including Eroski City, a 350-500 square-metre format located in the centre of towns and cities with more than 1,500 residents; and Eroski Center, a 1,000-2,000 square-metre format located in areas with a high population density in cities with more than 4,000 people.
It also operates hypermarkets with floor areas ranging between 3,000 and 12,000 square metres.
In 2017, the retailer added a new banner to its franchise commercial formats: Rapid, a 150 square-metre self-service, convenience store offering around 3,600 SKUs.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
