Valora can expand its convenience store network as planned to become the largest in Switzerland in 2023 and significantly strengthen its presence at service stations. The Swiss Competition Commission (WEKO) has approved the operation of the further service station shops from Oel-Pool without any conditions. Valora will gradually convert the shops into avec stores, running the avec convenience format at some 370 locations by the end of 2023.
Over the next months, Valora will commence the operation of over 70 shops of Switzerland’s leading service station operator Oel-Pool, announced in June 2022, in a staggered manner after the Competition Commission (WEKO) gave its unconditional approval on 13 December 2022. The shops will now be gradually converted into avec stores with a comprehensive range of convenience offerings. They are located at bp service stations in Western, Northwestern and Eastern Switzerland.
The collaboration with Moveri, Oel-Pool’s fuel company, and the acquisition of around 40 service station shops was announced back in summer 2021. These stores were transferred to the avec sales outlet network in the course of 2022. Thanks to the expanded cooperation with Oel-Pool, Valora will increase its presence at Swiss service stations to over 170 stores by the end of 2023, including locations of Tamoil and other suppliers. The majority of customers shop at service stations without refueling. They come by because of the good location, long opening hours, and the convenience range. As communicated, the foodvenience provider expects to achieve sales of over CHF 300 million per year in its service station business in the medium term.
Through the cooperation with Oel-Pool and Moveri and the ongoing conversion of k kiosk outlets into avec stores, the entire avec outlet network in Switzerland will grow to around 370 sales outlets by the end of 2023. This makes the avec brand, which was modernised in summer 2018, the convenience provider with the highest number of sales outlets in Switzerland. At the same time, Valora is thus reaching a further milestone in its growth-oriented food strategy. With the expansion of its convenience presence at service stations, the higher-margin food share of Valora's overall category mix continues to grow.
Picture credits: Stefano Schröter | Oel-Pool
About Valora
Each and every day, around 15,000 employees in the Valora network work to brighten up their customers’ journey with a comprehensive foodvenience offering – nearby, quick, convenient and fresh. The around 2,700 small-scale points of sale of Valora are located at highly frequented locations in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The company includes, among others, k kiosk, Brezelkönig, BackWerk, Ditsch, Press & Books, avec, Caffè Spettacolo, Frittenwerk and the popular own brand ok.– as well as a continuously growing range of digital services. Valora is also one of the world’s leading producers of pretzels and benefits from a well-integrated value chain in the area of baked goods. In 2021, Valora generated annual external sales of CHF 2.2 billion. The Valora Group with its registered office in Muttenz in Switzerland is the European retail unit of Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA). The registered shares of Valora Holding AG (VALN) are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange AG. These shares are scheduled to be delisted in accordance with a squeeze-out procedure.
More information is available at www.valora.com.
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Media Relations
Martin Zehnder
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Disclaimer
This document contains forward-looking statements referring to topics that are not based on historical fact and cannot otherwise be proven by referring to past events. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions and are subject to uncertainties as well as known and unknown risks. These uncertainties and risks, along with other factors, may mean that actual future events and developments, including Valora’s results, financial position and development, significantly deviate from what was explicitly or implicitly stated or assumed in the forward-looking statements. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this document only apply at the time of publication. Valora is not obligated to review or update forward-looking statements in light of new information or future developments or for any other reasons. This media release is not intended as a recommendation to buy securities.
