Spanish retailer Eroski saw sales in its franchise network grow by 7% last year, with partners opening 55 new stores across the country in 2017.
These openings involved an investment of €12.95 million, and created over 500 new jobs.
Catalonia saw the highest number of new stores, with 18 franchised outlets opening in the region last year. This was followed by the Basque Country, with seven new stores, and the Balearic Islands with five.
New franchised stores were also opened in Andalusia, Galicia, Andorra, Extremadura, Madrid, Navarra, Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Melilla , Cantabria, Valencia and La Rioja.
Expansion Plans
Eroski says that it has tried to maintain a high rate of franchise openings, with over 267 new stores in the last four years.
The retail cooperative also expanded its network of franchised hypermarkets in the past year, with new larger-format stores in Melilla and Elche.
It says that the strategy of extending the franchise formula to hypermarkets places a 'special focus on competitiveness' and the adaption of each store to the market in which it operates.
Looking ahead, Eroksi plans to expand its overall franchise network further, with a focus on Andalusia, Madrid, Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura and Levante.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
