Expects the Spanish supermarket chain DIA an investment of 110 million dollars for the renovation and opening of new stores in Argentina, one of the four countries in which it operates together with Brazil and Portugal. It is the second in terms of sales volume after Spain.

Today the chain has 935 stores in the country, half of which are located in the Federal Capital: the largest net by number of mouths in the port area. It happens that the heart of the business is the sale of mass consumer products in premises from 250 to 300 square meters located in neighborhoods, with which it consolidated in the local trade.

The idea is based on the assumption that today the consumer does not spend two or three hours to stock up in a hypermarket (from a family outing as it once was) but, for different reasons, including inflation, small purchases in nearby points.

“This trend is spreading around the world,” explains Martín Tolcachir, CEO of DIA in the local market. In fact, recently the company sold 235 supermarkets in Spain to reinvest those funds into its new corner store strategy. In total, the company has 1,775 stores operating with the new model, of which Spain holds 68% of the total); Argentina has 366 and Portugal 112.

Sustainable sales increases have been observed in all three countries, they point out in DIA. And this process is also taking place with the development of its own brand, which in the local gondolas it reaches over 1,000 products and represents 30% of the supermarket offer, more than double the incidence of these products in other competing chains.

The investment, as commented by the manager in a round with journalists, is targeted in the renovation of the store park, the opening of the 120 branches that will be inaugurated at the end of the year and the 230 new ones planned for 2023.

Among the strategies that are implemented in “restructuring” a place are the placement of fresh products (fruit and vegetables, for example) in the front part of the shopping area, the insertion of a greater assortment of products, the insertion of “ticket collect” (or take away) that allows buy online and collect your order in person and an improvement in aesthetic of commerce.

This renewal allows the chain collect between 20% and 30% of the volume of sales, says Tolcachir,

DIA is the only chain that works with a franchise format in the country. Affiliates (representing 70% of the premises) now pay $ 4.5 million plus a proprietary guarantee, and the company promises a return on disbursement of less than two years. However, the investment of 110 million dollars is in favor of the DIA Group which this year, despite the inflationary attacks, It is growing in sales.

In the first half of the year, the company increased turnover by 3.5% – in line with the increase in consumption of 4.4%, according to the consulting firm Scentia – and against a 2% drop recorded in the same period of 2021. And a 3.7% increase in the number of open stores.

In Brazil, on the other hand, where sales are more stabilized due to political uncertainty, the number of stores has been reduced 13.9% over the same period, but billing benefited most from a revaluation of the Brazilian real.

According to data reported by the parent company, the chain’s net sales in its 2,763 stores globally in the first half of the year increased by 8.5% compared to the previous year, up to the 3,465.3 million euros. These results, according to the company, represent a turning point for the transformation the company began three years ago and has undergone proximity as a strategic lever.

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