CHILE - Falabella announced plans to invest USD 4,000 million from 2017 through 2020 in order to expand its presence in the region.
Investments include the opening of 114 new stores and nine new shopping centers, as well as remodeling existing stores and shopping centers. Logistics, including new distribution centers (DC) and IT, will also be part of this investment plan with which Falabella expects to continue to develop its omnichannel strategy and implement initiatives to boost productivity.
During 2017, the company plans to invest USD 977 million in the region and open 23 stores and two shopping centers. "We continue to be focused on improving the efficiency and productivity of our operations and, in parallel, we continue to invest in the foundations for future growth, extending our physical footprint and digital capabilities in order to better server our customers”, said Sandro Solari, Chief Executive Officer of SACI Falabella.
By year-end 2016, the Falabella Group had 476 stores and 38 shopping centers in the region. During the year, the company opened 25 stores: 4 in Chile, 11 in Peru, 8 in Colombia, 1 in Brazil and 1 in Uruguay. In terms of store format, SACI Falabella opened 7 department stores, 6 home improvement stores, 12 supermarkets. The Company also inaugurated a shopping center in Huancayo, Peru, continued to invest in the expansion and remodeling of existing stores and made important investments in logistics and IT during the year. In Peru, the Company inaugurated a 65,000 m2 DC for the Sodimac and Maestro home improvement stores. In Colombia, Sodimac launched a new dispatch center for home deliveries. In Brazil, the Company equipped a rented 20,000 m2 DC, which can be expanded to 80,000 m2, to manage the logistics for both the Dicico and Sodimac formats. Banco Falabella in Chile and Colombia completed the implementation of the new core banking system with a world class IT solution. Banco Falabella in Colombia re-launched its website, with a new design and functionalities. The Falabella financial services unit also introduced new mobile apps for CMR Chile, CMR Argentina and Banco Falabella Chile.
With operations in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, SACI Falabella operates five business units: department stores, home improvement, supermarket, real estate and financial services. In addition, in July of last year, the Company signed the definitive contracts with Soriana in order to develop together a chain of home improvement stores (Sodimac) and a financial services business (CMR) in Mexico. SACI Falabella is also the first retailer in Latin America to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), which tracks the leading sustainability-driven companies. Revenues for the last 12 months, as of September 2016, reached USD 13,116 million.
