At number 318 Sant Antoni Maria Claret street, in Barcelona, is what was Spain's first self-service establishment, opened in 1959 by the then newly created brand Caprabo, a name formed by the first syllable of the surname of the three founding families: Carbó, Prat and Botet. Now, 62 years later and still fully operational, this distribution chain has remodeled and adapted it to the new generation of Caprabo supermarkets.
That store that revolutionized the retail sector in Spain by implementing self-service and providing customers with baskets to shop in a large area of 500 square meters in the city center, will now be a more competitive supermarket. According to the company, the consumer has a better shopping experience because the offer focuses on health, fresh products, local products, personalized savings and innovation.
Caprabo plans to end this year with 80% of its store network renovated, with an investment of 13 million euros for 2021 alone, in which it has focused on more than 70 establishments in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, with a total of 50,000 square meters of transformed commercial space. This is the year with the highest number of renovations since the company began this strategic project in 2017. In parallel, it maintains its growth policy. In 2020, it opened a dozen stores in eight towns in Catalonia, its strategic market.
Jordi Lahiguera, corporate development and marketing director at Caprabo, points out that "the new stores show a very good evolution in sales with double-digit growth. Our forecast is to have our entire network transformed in the next two years", that is, it will have transformed 213 own supermarkets and 80 franchised stores, where a total of 5,700 people work.
Caprabo plans to end this year with 80% of the network renovated, with an investment of 13 million euros for 2021 aloneThe new generation Caprabo supermarket ---which among other things has recovered the traditional logo from the chain's beginningsempowers a value-added offering through the use of new technologies at the service of the client,about 150,000 consumers daily, according to brand data.
The distribution chain, which in 2007 was acquired by the Basque group Eroski, has 50% of its capital in the hands of the Czech investment fund EP Corporate Group, since last March. In the last fiscal year (closed on January 31, 2021) the company invoiced 842 million euros, with an increase of 6.6% compared to the previous year.
Throughout last year, the distribution chain undertook a comprehensive transformation plan that involved the relocation of the corporate headquarters from L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, together with the opening of a new distribution warehouse to boost fresh produce and online sales, in the ZAL Puerto el Prat de Llobregat area. This project received an investment of 20 million euros.