Switzerland's Coop retail chain has taken a further step towards its stated aim of expanding its business in the national market with the acquisition of the Waro supermarket group.
The acquisition, which is subject to approval by the Swiss competition authorities, will see Coop take control of Waro on 1 January 2003 and will allow the co-operative group to increase the number of large stores in its portfolio, something which it is difficult to do other than via acquisition because of strict regulations restricting new store development in Switzerland.
The Coop wants to increase the size of its stores in order to extend the range of its products, both in food and non-food, and to add to its existing supermarket and megastore fascias.
The Waro deal will give Coop a further 28 retail outlets, plus 13 service stations and 15 restaurants. Of particular importance are the 25 large format stores operated by Waro, which have a floor space of between 1,500 and 5,000 square metres and which are a perfect fit with Coop's expansion plans.
Coop said that 22 of the stores being acquired were in German-speaking Switzerland, with the other six in the French-speaking part. The Waro fascia will be dropped, and all the acquired stores rebranded as Coop.
Coop said that the Waro acquisition would give it all the additional selling space it required, allowing it to scrap plans to build new stores, a process which is lengthy and hampered by large amounts of red tape. It added that approval by the competition authorities was expected to be granted with the minimum of delay.