Delvita and Interkontakt Group (IKG) agreed to the taking over by Delvita of 50 Interkontakt stores. 39 stores are located in the Czech Republic and 11 in Slovakia.
IKG is the first food, textile and non food retailer in the Czech Republic. Delvita is the Czech operating company of the Delhaize 'The Lion' group.
This takeover perfectly fits in with the Delhaize « The Lion » group's strategy to be present among the first three food retailers in every market where it is operating. It also enables Delvita to :
- make a significant growth in Slovakia,
- confirm the Group's ambitions in the Czech Republic,
- to optimise its existing structure by spreading the cost on a much more important store chain.
In the coming months, the taken over stores will be integrated into the Delvita stores network. This will bring the sales outlet number to 98 in the Czech Republic and 12 in Slovakia, making a total number of 110. Before the takeover Delvita operated 59 stores in the Czech Republic and, since December 1998, 1 store in Slovakia. New openings are being carried out for 1999.
Most of the stores taken over in the Czech Republic have a sales area between 500 sq. m. and 1,000 sq. m. and several enlargements are planned. The stores taken over in Slovakia have an average sales area of 1,000 m2.
Delvita was set up in 1991 by the Delhaize 'The Lion' group. In 1998, Delvita opened 16 stores, one of them being the first one in Slovakia. In 1998, Delvita achieved sales of CZK 8.8 billion (BEF 9.9 billion), an increase of 44.8 % compared to 1997. In 1998, the number of staff members at Delvita increased by 878 people to 4,514.
In 1998, the Belgian food retailer Delhaize 'Le Lion' achieved sales of BEF 520.9 billion and realised a net profit of BEF 6 billion. At the end of 1998, the Delhaize 'The Lion' group employed 118,942 staff members and operated 1.904 stores. The Delhaize 'The Lion' group is present in ten countries, included the Czech and Slovak Republics.
For further information, please contact : Guy Elewaut, Investor and Financial Press Relations Manager Delhaize 'The Lion' group, phone: 32.(0)2.412.29.48.