Italian discount retailer Lillo Group is planning to open 60 new stores over the next five years, investing €500 million and creating 1,250 new jobs.
The news was announced by president Patrizio Podini during a ceremony for the opening of a new logistics centre at Gricignano di Aversa (near Caserta) for the storage of non-food goods.
The 6,000-square-metre structure required an investment of €4.5 million and will accommodate 1,000 containers per year and 20,000 tonnes of cargo. It has 7,000 pallet positions and eight cargo doors. The centre will increase the distribution capacity of the group, which currently employs more than 5,000 people, by 40 per cent.
The logistics centre will also host an e-commerce platform that will launch by the end of this month.
Lillo Group owns the MD Discount and LD Market stores, with more than 720 outlets and six distribution centres throughout Italy. It is the second-biggest player in the Italian discount sector, with a 15-per-cent market share, ending 2014 with a turnover of over €2 billion (+10% y/y).
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic.
