dm building a logistic centre this year

As Mariann Józsa, purchasing and marketing director has told us, the financial year starts on 1. October for drogerie markt. Sales grew at the planned rate in the first quarter. Both the number of customers and average basket value show continuous growth. The land for a new logistic centre was purchased last year. Construction is to start in 2009 and the project is to be completed in 2010. 11 new stores were opened in the first quarter, two of which were relocations. The total number of units was 234 in January 2009. Dm was the first to launch a four month price guarantee program in 2008. In 2009, dm will continue to focus on customer loyalty programs and on increasing its market share. According to László Murányi, CEO of CO-OP Hungary Zrt., their revenues totalled HUF 500 billion in 2008, which is 14 percent more then in 2007. 158 new stores were opened in 2008, while others were enlarged. At present, the total number of Coop stores is nearly 3,000. These belong to the Coop, Mini Coop, Maxi Coop and Coop Supermarket chains. The group also operates 2,000 small, neighbourhood stores. Nearly HUF 1 billion was spent on IT projects in 2008, while development projects totalled HUF 3 billion. Coop business policy has remained unchanged, with manufacturers’ brands accounting for 75 percent of the assortment. The popularity of private labels has grown substantially in recent years. They do not import products which are also available in the local market.