Pepco Group is pushing further into Europe by opening its first store in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Retail Week can reveal.
The group will open its first Pepco store in Sarajevo on September 12, followed by further openings in 2023 in locations such as Mostar, Livno, Gradačac, Kakanj, Čitluk and Lukavac.
The news follows continued successful expansion into Western European markets, its most recent being Portugal earlier this summer.
Pepco Group is set to open at least 550 net new stores in FY23, mostly through the Pepco brand, while also expanding the presence of its Dealz brand in Poland. Thousands of new jobs will be created across Europe this financial year.
The group also owns the Poundland brand in the UK, which is in the midst of a store transformation project and expanding its grocery offering.
Pepco Group chief executive Trevor Masters said: “The opening of the first Pepco store in Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a milestone in the group’s profitable store expansion programme – our biggest source of value creation.
”Pepco is well placed for future success, supported by its market-leading customer proposition as we focus on building a bigger, better, cheaper and simpler business.”
The announcement follows a successful debt refinancing by Pepco with its inaugural bond issue of €375m (£321m) in June 2023, which saw demand from Polish and other international investors.
The group said: ”Pepco achieved ratings from the three largest global credit agencies – Fitch, S&P and Moody’s – who noted the robustness of the business and a healthy organic growth profile, driven by its store development programme, scale and compelling value offering.”
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