Tengelmann, Spar swap stores in Hungary

Tengelmann​, the German retail group, has extended its European presence with the acquisition of 22 stores there owned by the Spar group. In exchange, the German company will transfer ownership of its 22 Kaisers supermarkets in Hungary to Spar.

The 22 former Spar stores will be converted to Tengelmann's discount store facsia, Plus, taking the total number of Plus outlets in Hungary to 150.

The Hungarian transaction marks the end of Tengelmann's multi-fascia expansion. "The sale of our highly successful Kaisers supermarket chain in Hungary is the final stage of our international expansion strategy for that fascia,"​ said Tengelmann's CEO, Karl Erivan W. Haub.

"From now on, we will concentrate on expanding operations at the fast-growing Plus unit across Europe."​ Tengelmann will be the market leader in the Hungarian discount sector following the deal.

Tengelmann operates more than 3,500 Plus stores in seven countries across Europe, and the chain generated sales of over €7.7 billion last year.

Meanwhile, Tengelman is planning to lodge an official complaint with the European Commission against the Portuguese government's planning regulations, which it claims have prevented it from rolling out the Plus format there.

Portugal's strict legislation - which is similar to that in neighbouring Spain, where Tengelmann also operates a number of stores - dates from 1997, and has frequently been criticised by companies, both domestic and foreign, seeking to expand their operations there. Because Tengelmann only entered the Portuguese market after 1997, it has been particularly badly affected by the rules.

Tengelmann claims that the rules prevented it from meeting its expansion target of 150 new stores in Portugal by 2007, a move which would have cost the German group some €300 million. The company currently operates 24 Plus stores in Portugal and 200 in Spain.