CHILE - Falabella announced its investment plan for 2021 for USD 796 million. An important part will be aimed at increasing its technological capabilities that will allow falabella.com to become its unique e-commerce platform and marketplace to lead regional trade.

Its logistics capabilities will also be strengthened to sustain the accelerated growth of its online sales, improve the experience of its customers with digital and personalized solutions, and increase the operational efficiency of the company.

The general manager of Falabella, Gaston Bottazzini highlighted that “at Falabella we seek to simplify the lives of our customers and transform their shopping experiences. The plan presented focuses on accelerating the creation of falabella.com, as a unique and consolidating platform for traffic and assortment, along with the development of new and better functionalities in our retail and financial apps, especially those that simplify the experience of shop at the store. The deployment of more and better services for Marketplace sellers is also an important focus of our investment and growth”.

Investments in technology will improve the experience of customers and sellers under the integration of the falabella.com umbrella. For its part, FPay will continue to consolidate itself as a digital payment platform with financial services for both customers and sellers and expanding its operation in Peru and Colombia.

Additionally, technological projects will be developed to enhance home delivery logistics with a focus on shortening delivery times to 48 hours, meeting customer requirements in an accelerated manner, and increasing visibility and traceability in the last mile.

44% of the remaining investments will be used mainly to develop IKEA in Chile, Peru and Colombia, and to expand the regional physical network of all its business units.

USD 110 million of the investments announced for 2021 will be allocated to the multi-year store opening plan, which includes 19 openings in the region by 2021: the implementation of 7 Tottus and Hiperbodegas supermarkets in Peru, the second market player in that country, 4 Tottus in Chile; the opening of 3 new Sodimac stores in Mexico and 4 in the rest of the region; and 1 Falabella Retail store in Peru.

In turn, during 2021, USD 243 million will be invested in optimizing the existing network of stores and shopping centers, through renovations and remodeling that will enhance the integration of the digital proposal with the physical shopping experience, accelerating the development of the store of the future. Much of the estimated amount for 2021 will focus on shopping center renovations for the IKEA openings in 2022 and home improvement in the region.

Bottazzini concludes: “The investments that we will make in our e-commerce platform, seller center, and payments are the main focus to generate the future growth of the company. These are complemented by improvements in logistics and the re-adaptation of the network of stores and shopping centers that will generate truly omnichannel shopping experiences.”