Solid increase for Auchan subsidiary
in 2002, but fell just short of its target of €900 million
turnover. Expansion is still the order of the day, with 20 new
outlets planned for 2003, eight more than last year.
Supermercados Sabeco, the Spanish supermarket unit of France's Auchan group, has reported a 6.8 per cent increase in sales for 2002 to €868.3 million, a solid improvement but just short of its predicted target of €900 million.
The company currently operates 115 Sabeco supermarkets and two 7D convenience stores throughout Spain, and is planning to open a further 20 this year at a cost of some €59.7 million as part of its ongoing expansion programme which should see it double the number of stores it operates by 2007, at a cost of €300 million.
According to the company's chairman, Juan Ruiz Larrea, the new stores will be concentrated mainly in the north of Spain this year, with the latest store set to open next month in Vizcaya, followed a month later by one in La Rioja.
Twelve new stores were opened in 2002, at a cost of €45.2 million, giving the company its first outlets in a number of Spanish cities - Valencia, Ciudad Real, Zaragoza and Tarragona - as well as reinforcing its position in Bilbao, Madrid, Logroño, Burgos, Vitoria and Zaragoza.
