Spanish supermarket chain Caprabo plans to install 100 franchised supermarkets in Catalonia by 2015 to boost its store count to 450 outlets.
The plan marks the chain’s move into franchising. It will enable it to sharply boost its store count in the Northeast Spanish region, home to second-largest city Barcelona, where it already operates 198 outlets.
The new stores will measure 300-500 square metres – smaller than the standard 800 square metre outlets operated by the chain, which is owned by Basque hypermarket group Eroski.
The strategy will allow the 350-store franchise to reach smaller towns with smaller populations “where smaller markets predominate,” Caprabo said in a statement.
The outlets will carry 5,000 products of which 20% will be private label, it added.
