A powerful expansion plan in Chile in its supermarket division would enlist the Peruvian group Intercorp, which on Wednesday sealed the purchase of the Erbi chain, which manages 33 establishments spread across the regions of Valparaíso, Metropolitana and O’Higgins.
The Rodríguez-Pastor family conglomerate leads the supermarket business in Peru with more than 1,200 stores, with brands such as Plaza Vea Hiper, Plaza Vea Super, Vivanda, Makro and Mass. It is estimated that the group, under its division called Peruvian Supermarkets, It leads the market with around 40% share, surpassing Cencosud (with its Wong and Metro brands) and Falabella (Tottus and Hiperbodega Precio Uno).
Its expansion strategy has been via acquisitions and organic growth (opening new stores from scratch). In 2016, the firm relaunched its Mass brand, focused on the hard discount format, which it has strongly promoted in recent times: this year the company plans to open 300 establishments under this banner in Peru, more than the 220 locations that the 2023. At the end of that year, it already had 900 stores.
The Mass chain has become Intercorp’s workhorse in Peru, with its hard discount model or discount stores.
Competitive market
Peruvians come to a supermarket industry in Chile that, according to Feller Rate, has reached a “highly competitive” level, consolidated around four large chains that have managed to maintain over 90% of the market: the American Walmart (with its Lider brand, among others), Cencosud (Jumbo and Santa Isabel), SMU (Unimarc) and Falabella (Tottus).
Intercorp’s plan in Chile, after the purchase of Erbi, would aim to replicate its Mass brand in the country, focusing on the hard discount segment or discount stores, with rooms of 200 square meters or more.
