Polish retailer Biedronka, part of the Jerónimo Martins Group, is set to have around 3,050 stores in Poland by 2020, with sales rising to more than PLN 56 billion, according to Haitong Bank, which has conducted an assessment of the market leader's performance in the coming years. However, the retailer's like-for-like sales and sales per square metre are set to decrease in the same period.
Store Growth
Polish trade publication Wiadomoscihandlowe.pl reported that according to Haitong Bank estimates, Biedronka will open a net 225 stores over the next three years, to stand at 3,047 outlets by the end of 2020. As of the end of 2017, the retailer operated a total of 2,820 stores.
Haitong Bank estimates that sales within the Biedronka network will grow from an expected PLN 46.9 billion for 2017 to more than PLN 56.4 billion by 2020 – a 7% increase.
As the retailer grows, however, it is likely to see an impact on its like-for-like sales performance, with LFL sales set to drop from an estimated 8.3% in 2017 to 3% by 2020. Sales growth per square metre is anticipated to drop from 7.1% in 2017 to around 1.8% by 2020, according to the report.
Wage Increases
As Biedronka grows, so it is looking to embolden its most important asset: its staff. Earlier this month, Jerónimo Martins Polska announced that it would be increasing wage rates across Biedronka stores and distribution centres, with increases ranging from PLN 200 to PLN 550, depending on a staff member's location, seniority, and role within the company. This is the fourth salary increase that the retailer has implemented in the past four years.
"We are aware of the importance of employee satisfaction in building customer trust," Biedronka personnel director Jarosław Sobczyk commented on the announcement. "We want to appreciate the contribution of our employees to the development of the entire company."
Biedronka is currently the largest private employer in Poland, employing more than 65,000 people, and the retailer increased its staff count by more than 5,000 last year. It operates more than 2,750 stores in over 1,000 towns and cities in Poland.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
