Brazilian retailer GPA renovated a total of 20 Pão de Açúcar supermarkets in 2019, following the rollout of a new store format in September 2019.
Of the total store renovations, 15 were located in São Paulo (including the group's flagship store in Jardim Paulista), three in Rio de Janeiro and two in the Federal District.
As a result of the format changes, the stores have seen growth across all performance indicators; a 9% increase in sales, 7% in volume and 5% in the number of customers, compared to units that have not yet been reformed.
The renovation and expansion project will continue in 2020, with the opening of 10 new stores in locations with potential for expansion, while another 15 existing stores will be remodelled.
Dark Store Rollout
GPA has also rolled out its first dark store, a space dedicated to e-commerce purchases where consumers will not be able to shop on site.
Built within the existing structure of Extra hypermarkets, the aim of the store is to facilitate efficient logistics and deliveries of purchases made over the internet, reducing dependence on distribution centres.
The first store to receive a dark store was Extra Hiper Barra, in Rio de Janeiro, while similar stores will be installed in Belo Horizonte and Brasília in early 2020.
GPA's e-commerce grew 30% in the third quarter of 2019.
Carrefour also operates a so-called 'side store' model in five units, aimed for e-commerce purchases.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
