Studenac, Croatia’s largest retailer by number of stores, has snapped up La-Vor, a proximity retail chain on the Istrian peninsula, reaching its goal of three acquisitions this year as it targets a 10% market share by the end of 2025.
Established in 1991 and based in the Istrian town of Buzet, La-Vor operates 16 stores and has more than 200 employees.
“It’s great to be doing another acquisition in Istria, which is where we started our nationwide expansion back in 2019 with the purchase of Istarski Supermarketi,” says Studenac Board President Michał Seńczuk.
“La-Vor is a very well managed business, with very high sales per square metre and strong brand recognition in the region. They’re a great fit with our proximity retail model, because just like us, they concentrate on building customer loyalty by providing high quality products in neighborhood shops.”
Studenac is closing the year with 1,269 stores, with growth driven both by organic expansion and by acquisitions.
It has tripled its network since it was acquired five years ago by Central European private equity fund Enterprise Investors.
Studenac has invested more than €160 million in the process, including the takeovers of Strahinjčica and Špar earlier this year, and forecasts that this strategy will make it one of Croatia’s top three retailers in 2025, with a market share of 10%.
It plans to invest in areas including La-Vor’s sales network, employee development and process modernisation.
2023 RTIH Innovation Awards
Studenac emerged victorious at the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards.
It was highly commended in the Most Innovative Retailer category for working to automate decision making along its supply chain, reducing the need for manual interventions to a minimum.
Our winners were revealed at a fantastic awards ceremony, which took place at the Barbican Centre in central London.
The event was held on Wednesday, 29th November, maintaining its popular evening format, with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a Christmas themed three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.
Check out the full winners list here.
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