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Retail

Rewe: Withdraws Penny And Invests In Italy

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Rewe: Withdraws Penny And Invests In Italy

Rewe will cease trading under its Penny banner in western Austria. The German retailer has confirmed that its discount banner will no longer operate in the region. 10 Penny stores in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg areas will be handed over to its Billa supermarket division.

just-food quoted the retailer as saying, "The reason is the following: in Tyrol Penny was active with seven stores, which is a relatively small number," the spokesperson told just-food. "Especially if you consider that we have to afford promotional marketing measures for such a little number of locations.

"We had two options: either to further expand or to hand over some stores. Due to the fact that Penny is not that well-known in the western part of Austria we decided to focus on those stores, which are well accepted and very successful."

Rewe operates around 290 Penny stores across Austria and hasn't ruled out returning to the west of the country in the future.

Italian Investment

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Meanwhile, in Italy, Rewe is to invest hugely in its enlarging Billa supermarket division. Plans to expand its portfolio of stores under the banner will cost the German group €20 million per year to 2016.

An undisclosed number of "medium" sized Billa stores (approximate selling space of 800-1,000sq m) will increase the banner's presence in northern Italy, where the affects of the economic crisis on consumer spending are not as evident as in the country's southern region. (15 Oct)

© 2012 - ESM: European Supermarket

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