Maxima Grupė, which owns the Maxima retail chain in the Baltics, the Stokrotka chain in Poland and the T-Market chain in Bulgaria, plans to open 120-140 new stores in those markets during 2019. Many of them will be opened in Poland. The company plans to invest at least EUR 100 million altogether next year in the expansion and renewal of its chains of stores.

“Next year we plan active expansion, with the main focus on Poland. That market of 38 million people is attractive for its size and its growth and consolidation potential. The merger of the Stokrotka retail chain which we acquired in the spring and Aldik which we already owned has laid strong foundation for further growth in that neighboring country. We plan to maintain a fast pace of growth there in the coming years,” says Maxima Grupė Chairman of the Board and CEO Dalius Misiūnas.

According to him, investments will be directed to the expansion of all formats, including convenience stores that are becoming more popular. “As the way we live rapidly changes, people’s shopping habits are also changing. More and more customers want to shop quickly near their home or work. In those stores, they want to find not just basic necessities, but also freshly prepared and take-away food,” notes Dalius Misiūnas.

As of the end of October, Maxima Grupė owned 1059 stores, the largest number of which, 507, were in Poland. By the end of this year, the company plans to open a total of about 50 more new stores in all markets.

At the end of 2017, Maxima Grupė‘s companies owned 568 stores. Last year Maxima Grupė’s turnover grew by 4.2 percent compared to 2016, to EUR 2.806 billion.