New convenience store chain Aligator to rival Zabka

2010-09-06

Eko Holding, a Polish retail group, will launch a new chain under the Aligator brand name on the Polish market. The network will consist of stores occupying an area of 80-120 m², and they will be emerging in the residential areas. They will have an expanded offer of alcoholic beverages.
At present, there is one trial Aligator store operating on the market and by the end of 2010 the group plans to set up around ten new establishments.
The Aligator chain will be operating in the convenience stores segment, which is one of the fastest growing sectors of the retail market in Poland. The new chain will rival Zabka, the largest convenience store chain in Poland, with around 2,150 stores. The latter network plans to set up around 250 new establishments in 2010.
Eko Holding manages 221 stores under the Eko name, the Rabat franchise chain of 530 establishments as well as Polska Grupa Dystrybucyjna, a distributor of cosmetics.
In H1 2010, the the Eko Holding’s sales revenues grew by 0.4% year on year to PLN 598.9m (€149.7m), while net profit increased by 5% year on year, to PLN 11.7m (€2.9m).