Spanish multinational food retailing group DIA has reached 3,000 franchised stores, distributed in the five countries where it operates (Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, China). This means that 40 per cent of all of DIA’s stores operate under this format.
By territories, Spain remains the country with the highest number of establishments with this type of business strategy, accounting for more than 1,600 stores, followed by Brazil with 470 and Argentina with 450.
In Portugal, the company has 353 own supermarkets and about 300 franchisees.
Since it opened its first franchise in Spain 25 years ago, DIA has considered the franchise model as an integral part of its business, which is also a useful formula for supporting self-employment and the local business network.
DIA franchises currently generate over 18,000 jobs: over 5,500 in Spain, 2,000 in Portugal, 7,500 Brazil, 2,600 in Argentina and over 900 jobs in China, its latest market.
In Portugal, the DIA Group controls the supermarket network Minipreço, the Mais Perto shops (convenience stores located in small towns) and Schelecker establishments (specialised in personal care and cleaning products).
Recently, the Spanish company placed 72nd in the ranking of the 250 largest retail companies in the world (Global Power of Retailing 2015), prepared by the Deloitte consultancy and Store magazine.
Also, the group is ranked tenth in the "ranking" of the main franchising companies in the world, according to the specialised consultant Franchise Direct.
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