Spanish retail group El Corte Ingles has decided to revamp all of the stores that operate under its struggling c-store grocery banner, Opencor.
Consecutive quarters of slow growth has led to low profitability within the Opencor banner, and the closure of 17 of its stores in Cataluña.
In a statement, the company said that rigid opening hours has been the main reason for its poor performance.
The last Opencor store to shut its store was in Vigo, where the retailer said that "the decision is part of the general plan for the chain".
El Corte Ingles now plan to convert its remaining 21 convenience stores in Spain to 'Supercor Express' stores. The retailer says that the new brand will be far more successful because of more flexible opening hours and staff contracts, as well as a greater variety of products available inshore .
In related news, El Corte Ingles, which is perhaps more famous for its department store offering, has announced that they will be creating an online shopping experience which customers in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands will be able to use. So far, its physical department store is only available in SPain and Portugal.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Paula Martin
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