Portuguese retail group Jerónimo Martins plans to invest between €700 million and €750 million this year in three main areas.
According to the company, capex will be allocated for the expansion of the Biedronka, Hebe, Pingo Doce and Ara banners, as well as the ongoing upgrade of existing stores and improvements to the operational and logistics infrastructure in the three markets where the group operates: Portugal, Poland and Colombia.
As well as organic growth, Jerónimo Martins says it will seek growth opportunities through acquisitions.
Full-Year Performance
The company closed 2018 with profits of €401 million, an increase of 4.1% on the previous year. Sales increased 6.5% to €17.3 billion.
Jerónimo Martins has revealed it plans to open around 50 smaller Biedronka stores and increase the number of supermarkets operating under the banner by around 60. As a result, the group should close 2019 with more than 3,000 Biedronka stores, compared to 2,900 at the end of 2018.
Also in Poland, the group is expected to expand its Hebe health and beauty chain, with the opening of approximately 50 stores. The brand ‘will move towards strengthening convenience through an omni-channel approach’, the company said.
In its home market, Jerónimo Martins expects to gain market share at both the Pingo Doce and Recheio banners.
The pace of expansion across its Pingo Doce store network and the investment in the refurbishment of the network will be maintained.
Latin America
In Colombia, Jerónimo Martins forecasts a positive consumer environment, despite short-term volatility due to wavering consumer confidence.
The Ara supermarket chain will also expand its network, on the back of 143 new openings in 2018, and open two distribution centres by the end of 2019. It will also ‘work on sales and key profitability variables’ to reduce its losses.
© 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
