Pepco Group to open 400 new stores as it maps out ‘refocused’ strategy

Ahead of the group’s capital markets day, taking place in Warsaw, Poland, today, Pepco confirmed its “key focus areas over the near term” including the opening of at least 400 new stores across the group during 2024.

Pepco said it will prioritise “rebuilding the profitability” of its core business in both Central and Eastern Europe as part of its plans.

The group also confirmed intentions to strengthen its position in key markets including continuing the progress already made in Western European markets, while scaling the business in Italy and Spain.

This comes as it emphasised that it remains committed to the UK, which is the group’s largest market.

As part of its vision to be “Europe’s leading variety discount retailer”, Pepco said it will also assess its strategic positioning of Dealz in Poland.

Pepco Group executive chair Andy Bond said: “We need to refocus on delivering more measured growth – doing less, to achieve more – with a greater focus on improving profitability and cash generation in our established business.

“The opportunities remain significant and we will now look to leverage them in a more targeted way. Notwithstanding a challenging market backdrop, the group has a market-leading customer proposition, strong balance sheet and resilient operating cash flow that makes me confident of its continued success across Europe with a renewed strategic focus.”