Italian retailers Gruppo Finiper and Conad have implemented an agreement, initially signed in November of last year, to rebrand six hypermarkets.
During the first quarter of 2019, Conad, through its associated cooperatives Conad Adriatico and Commercianti Indipendenti Associati, will take over the commercial management of Iper stores in Ortona, Pescara, Colonnella, Civitanova Marche, Pesaro, and Udine.
Starting this month, the outlets in Udine, Pesaro, and Colonnella will switch ownership.
The Civitanova store will follow in March, with stores in Pescara and Ortona set to switch in April of this year.
Rebranding
The six stores, which reported a gross turnover of €250 million in 2017, will be rebranded to the IperConad banner.
The move will enable both companies to achieve further growth along the Adriatic backbone.
The business will also benefit from the know-how of Gruppo Finiper, especially in fresh products and non-food items.
The rebranded stores will implement the commercial policy of Conad, that offers a wide range of quality products and brands with a strong focus on private label.
The commercial agreement between the two Italian groups will also lead to significant synergies in logistical costs, according to the retailers.
In Italy, Gruppo Finiper operates 27 Iper hypermarkets, as well as 140 Unes, U2, Viaggiator Goloso supermarkets, and six shopping malls.
Agreement With Unieuro
Last month, it signed a commercial agreement with Italian consumer electronics chain Unieuro, which plans to open 20 'shop-in-shops' in Iper hypermarkets by the end of this year.
The agreement was preceded by a trial, launched in February of 2018, which saw the opening of a number of 'Unieuro by Iper' spaces.
Iper will manage the points of sale independently, with its own employees, but will adopt the structure and layout of Unieuro.
The format includes spaces of 400-800 square metres, with Unieuro taking care of logistics, IT, and staff training.
For Iper, the goal is to increase the offer dedicated to its customers, while Unieuro will benefit from the increased footfall.
© 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.
