Lithuanian retailer Maxima Grupé has announced that is instigating a merger of two of its retail operations in Poland, Stokrotka and Aldik.
The group bought Aldik in 2012 and Emperia Holding, parent company of Stokrotka, last year.
Maxima Grupé indicates that the merger, which will see the Stokrotka banner take over Aldik, will be completed this autumn. After the merger is complete, there will be 563 Stokrotka stores in operation in Poland by the end of the year, the company says.
Commenting on the operation, Dalius Misiūnas, chairman of the board and CEO of Maxima Grupė said, "Merging these two retail chains is part of our strategy in Poland. It will allow us to strengthen Maxima Grupė's position and implement further expansion plans in the market. The merger will bring together the experience and knowledge of both companies, [enabling the company to] seek synergies and exploit economies of scale."
Changing banner from Aldik to Stokrotka makes sense, since the latter operates some 20% of Poland's convenience stores. It operated 437 stores as of the end of 2017.
By comparison, Aldik operated 30 stores and posted a turnover of €52 million in 2017, while Stokrotka's was more than ten times that, at €597 million.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Matthieu Chassain. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
