Italian food retailer MD is planning to open 44 new supermarkets by 2017, taking its store total to 780, up from the current 725.
The company is currently undertaking a transformation of its activities, with the rebranding of LD Market, a supermarket network acquired from Lombardini group in 2013, to the MD brand, while at the same time phasing out the MD Discount concept.
The new-look MD will large departments dedicated to fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, deli, meat and bread. Some 90 per cent of products on the shelves will be private label.
Currently, MD has a 15 per cent market share in the discount segment in Italy and is in tenth place in the overall food retail market, with a 2.4 per cent share.
The group ended 2015 with a 6 per cent growth in turnover to €2.2 billion, a figure it is looking to increase to €2.5 billion by 2017.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
