Pam Panorama is set to invest more than €100 million between 2023 and 2025 to open 10 new superstores and 50 Pam Local outlets, with the first opening in Bologna in March 2023.
The Italian grocery retailer will also upgrade 20 existing supermarkets and restructure seven hypermarkets, reducing their size to between 3,500 and 5,000 square metres, and focusing solely on food. Non-food products will henceforth be handled by third-party operators.
Franchise Agreements
According to general manager Andrea Zoratti, the brand is also working to strengthen its presence in Southern Italy by developing franchising agreements along the lines of the partnership signed with RetailPro in Campania.
RetailPro operates a network of 72 Pam shops in Campania, and opened a further two stores recently.
The same formula has enabled Borello, a partner in Piedmont, to open 45 outlets, while in Liguria, Arimondo has 23 Pam Panorama outlets.
This should lead to a doubling of revenues generated by master franchisees from the current €750 million a year to around €1.5 billion.
Logistics Investment
A new 60,000 square metre logistics hub will be opened in 2024 in Alessandria, the result of an investment of more than €60 million, and will service sales outlets in Northern Italy.
The group's Quality Meat Centre in Florence, where the cuts sold in all shops are processed, is also being upgraded, increasing production capacity from 60,000 to 100,000 tonnes per year.
Elsewhere, the group’s discounter chain, In's Mercato, is expected see an increase of sales from €2.7 billion in 2021 to over €3.1 billion in 2022.
Nine-Month Sales Figures
For the first nine months of 2022, Gruppo PAM reported a 11% growth in value sales and 3.4% growth in volume sales, compared to the same period in 2021.
However, Zoratti expects a drop in sales volumes in the coming months as consumer confidence is declining, while inflation, high energy prices and the international economic situation are impacting margins.
Pam Panorama currently operates 102 supermarkets, 22 hypermarkets and superstores, along with 286 franchised stores and 530 In’s discount stores.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
