July 22 (SeeNews) - Croatian food retailer Studenac plans to bring total investment in expansion of its network of stores to 300 million kuna ($45.5 million/40.6 million euro) this year, local media reported on Monday.
Studenac has already invested 240 million kuna in network expansion thus far in 2019, opening a new store in the Adriatic city of Zadar on Monday and increasing the number of its own stores in the country to 400, news wire SeeBiz reported, quoting information from the company.
The food retailer also completed earlier this month the takeover of Istra-based peer Istarski Supermarketi (IS), increasing the number of retail centres it runs to over 500.
"We are proud of our quick expansion, and the opening of our 400th store is an important step in this process," Studenac management board member Filip Bilanovic was quoted as saying at the Zadar store opening, adding the retail chain plans to open a further 30 new shops by the end of the year.
Studenac has also revamped 60 existing stores so far this year in line with the new standards, planning to have an overall 100 existing shops renovated in 2019.
Last month, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it has approved a senior long-term loan to Studenac to finance the planned acquisition of IS and future expansion, but did not provide the loan size.
In June 2018, Polish Enterprise Fund VIII, a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), signed an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Studenac from its owner and founder Josip Milavic.
Studenac now employs more than 2,500 people, after emerging as a small family business back in 1973.
(1 euro = 7.38869 kuna)