Croatian grocery retailer Studenac has expanded its business by taking over Slunj-based peer Kordun, which owns nine stores.
With the latest acquisition, Studenac, which is already the largest retailer in Croatia in terms of store count, gains a foothold in Karlovac County, where Kordun operates Buk supermarkets in Slunj, Rakovica, Cetingrad and Drežnik Grad.
Kordun has 52 employees and its annual turnover exceeded HRK 50 million (€6.6 million) in its latest financial year.
The takeover of the Kordun stores implies their reorganisation and rebranding under the Studenac banner, the expansion of the product assortment and the introduction of additional benefits for customers, such as weekly promotions and access to the 'Moj Studenac' customer loyalty programme.
Expansion Strategy
The acquisition is only the latest step in the expansion strategy of the Dalmatian retail chain, which was acquired by a private equity fund owned by Polish group Enterprise Investors less than four years ago passed from the hands of the Milavić family.
At the time of the takeover, the Studenac store network comprised less than 390 outlets, with about 2,600 employees. Currently, it operates around 750 outlets and employs over 4,000 people.
Enterprise Investors has, so far, invested over HRK 500 million (€66 million) in Studenac.
Other Acquisitions
The Omiš-based company has made a number of acquisitions, further strengthening its sales network across the Adriatic region, in addition to entering continental Croatia by opening its first stores in the capital, Zagreb.
The Kordun deal comes less than a month after the announcement that significant progress has been made in the takeover process of Lonia Trgovina.
Earlier this year, Dubrovnik-based chain Pemo also became part of Studenac.
© 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.
