Hypermarket chains reining in expansion

2010-07-20

After dynamic development of hypermarkets two or three years ago, when chains such as Tesco or Carrefour were opening several new stores a year, in 2010 there number of new openings is to decrease significantly.
By way of example, Carrefour intends to open only one hypermarket in 2010, with another planned for 2011, according to Rzeczpospolita. In addition, Auchan Polska plans to launch one hypermarket in 2010 and no more than two in 2011. Real does not intend to launch any establishments in 2010, preferring to focus on rebuilding existing stores. In 2010, the latter company plans to revamp nine hypermarkets, with seven projects already completed.
Only Tesco XE "Tesco" expects to open six hypermarkets in Poland in 2010, of which two projects are due to be completed by the end of the summer.
However, in contrast to other European countries, hypermarket chains are not very popular in Poland, where there are around seven of them for every one million residents, according to Nielsen. By way of example, in Finland and France, there are around 20 hypermarkets for every one million people.