A plan worth over 100 million euros to strengthen and renew the sales network that will lead to the creation of a thousand new direct and franchised jobs, an acceleration of franchise partnerships whose weight will double and above all prepare to face an economic cycle in which margins are not sufficient to cover overheads.
The timing
These are the key points of the Pam Panorama roadmap, a brand of modern distribution, for the next three years. “Between 2023 and 2025 we will invest more than 100 million to open 10 new superstores, 50 Pam Local and another 20 supermarkets will be upgraded, all owned stores – explains Andrea Zoratti, general manager of the brand -. We are also working to strengthen our presence in the South by developing franchising agreements on the model of the partnership signed with the RetailPro bell that we want to replicate in other regions of Southern Italy ». RetailPro has a network of 72 Pam stores in Campania and two more stores were inaugurated last week. For some years now, the same formula has allowed Borello, a Piedmontese partner, to open 45 markets while in Liguria Arimondo has 23 Pam Panorama stores. According to Zoratti, the revenues achieved by the master franchisees should double from the current 750 million a year to around 1.5 billion.
The logistic center
The greater development in the area also involves various investments to support growth. In 2024 a new logistics center will be inaugurated in Alessandria, the result of an investment of over 60 million. This hub will be at the service of the stores in Northern Italy, will develop on a covered area of 60 thousand square meters of which 15 thousand refrigerated, when fully operational it will employ 150 people and will be equipped with a 1.2 megawatt photovoltaic system which will cover 40% of the requirement. The quality meat center in Florence is also being upgraded, where the cuts sold in all the shops are processed. The production capacity will soon increase from over 60 thousand to 100 thousand tons per year. An establishment at the service of the market owned by the Pam Group but, in perspective, there is the possibility of serving the franchisees and the market.
I discount
The Pam Group, which belongs to the financial holding company Gecos, also owns the discount stores In’s Mercato, and this year turnover should exceed 3.1 billion compared to 2.7 billion in 2021. Due to the development of franchising activities in the 2025 the Group’s revenues are expected to grow double-digit. «In the first nine months of 2022 the sales trend sees a + 11% in value and a + 3.4% in volume compared to the same period of 2021 but I do not hide the concern for the next few months – continues Zoratti -. Consumer confidence is declining and we expect sales volumes to decline. Inflation, expensive energy and the international economic situation cause margins to be zeroed and collections do not compensate for the higher costs of bills. The picture is dramatic and in the summer we worked at a loss. On the income statement in September the weight of energy went to 6.5% from 2.7% in September 2021 ».