DIA (supermarket chain)

History

The DIA chain was created in Spain in 1979 with the opening of its first store on Calle Valderrodrigo 10, in the Madrid urbanization of Saconia.

In the 1990s, international expansion began with the acquisition of Minipreço in Portugal in 1993. It was followed by first Dia stores in Greece in 1995, in Argentina in 1997 and in Turkey in 1999.

Dia was acquired by Carrefour Group in 2000. The French Ed supermarket chain which it was acquired by Carrefour in 1999 has been integrated into the Dia discount group. In 2001 Dia entered Brazil. In 2003, Dia opened first stores in the China, where the number of openings in a year reached 300 stores. In 2007, Carrefour bought the Plus chain in Spain to integrate it into the Dia chain for €200 million.

In 2010, Carrefour transferred Dia Greece (who was 80% owned by Carrefour) to the joint-venture Carrefour Marinopoulos in order to convert the stores under the Carrefour Marinopoulos or Carrefour Express brands. In July 2011, Dia demerged from the Carrefour Group and was followed by its debut in Madrid's IBEX 35 stock market on 2 January 2012. In January 2013, Dia took over 1,127 stores in Spain, 41 stores in Portugal and 4 distribution centers for €70.5 million from the bankrupt German company Schlecker. Most of the stores were converted into beauty and personal care stores under the new brand Clarel. The Turkish subsidiary of Dia with 1,200 stores in Turkey was sold to Yıldız Holding in 2013 for €136.5 million. In June 2014, three years after it split from the Carrefour group, Dia's 800 stores in France, which were in difficulty, were bought for €600 million by Carrefour. The stores were converted to Carrefour brands or closed. In July 2014, Dia acquired the 455 regional supermarkets of El Arbor, the 8th largest supermarket chain in Spain, for 1 euro due to financial problems. Most of the stores were rebranded in La Plaza de DIA. In November 2014, Eroski sold 160 of its stores to Dia for €146 million, in the regions of Andalusia, Extremadura, Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha, with the aim of getting out of debt. Following the acquisitions, Dia closed 700 supermarkets in Spain between 2015 and 2019 due to the proximity between them or low sales. In 2018 Dia sold its Chinese subsidiary to Suning. Dia had nearly 400 franchised stores in Shanghai. In 2013 closed its 160 stores in Beijing as a result of continued losses. In May 2019, the LetterOne investment firm increased its share in the Dia Group to 69.76%, effectively taking control of the company. After that, a new board of directors was appointed and the company launched a transformation plan to regain competitiveness and to make the Company profitable focusing on the operational excellence and on a new commercial offer.

thumb|250px|A Dia supermarket in Munro, ArgentinaOn 20 May 2020 Stephan DuCharme became the executive president of the DIA Group. In August 2022 Dia announced in Spain the sale of 235 supermarkets under Dia, Maxi Dia and Plaza del Dia banners and 2 warehouses with 5,000 employees to Alcampo controlled by the French Auchan for €267 million. In March 2023, the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) authorized the sale of 224 locations to Alcampo, 11 fewer than initially planned to avoid a monopoly in certain areas. Dia announced the sale of its 1,015-store Clarel beauty store chain to Spanish fund C2 Private Capital for around €60 million in December 2022. Dia suspended the sale of its Clarel stores to C2 Private Capital due to breach of contract. Dia announced in August 2023 the sale of its Portuguese subsidiary Minipreço with 489 stores to French retailer Auchan for €155 million. The sale was completed on 30 April 2024. On 5 December 2023 Dia Retail announced the sale of its 1,015 Clarel beauty stores in Spain to Colombia's Grupo Trinity S.A.S. The total sale price is estimated to be €26.5 million, with an initial payment of €11.5 million received in 2024 and a potential maximum additional payment of €15 million in 2029, depending on certain performance metrics. On May 31, 2024, the sale of its Brazilian subsidiary to MAM Asset Management was announced for a symbolic price of 100 euros. The operation was completed on June 25 of the same year.

Operations

Dia is a discount supermarket chain which follows a policy of reduction of prices by means of minimizing operational costs. The furniture and decoration of the store are minimal. Costs are also reduced by limiting the choice of products to a narrow selection of European brand name and white-label Dia brand goods. Its policy of communication is based on mass media campaigns as well as periodic flyers featuring products which are on special sale.

References

References

1. "Dia Group 2024 Earnings Results Presentation".
2. "Trading Update 1Q 2025".
3. "Retail giant franchisee plans expansion blitz in "consumer-happy" Nigeria: at least 100 stores by 2020".
4. (17 July 2007). "Dia compra por 200 millones los supermercados Plus en España". El País.
5. (18 February 2010). "Agreement between Carrefour Greece and Marinopoulos: Dia stores in Greece to be converted to the Carrefour banners".
6. (January 2024). "About us: DIA Group". Dia.
7. "DIA Group joins Ibex 35". DIA.
8. reserved, Copyright Haufe-Lexware GmbH & Co KG- all rights. "Supermarktkette Dia übernimmt Schlecker-Filialen in Spanien {{!}} Immobilien {{!}} Haufe".
9. (19 December 2013). "Dia da glamour a Schlecker y crea Clarel, un nuevo formato".
10. "Spanish supermarket Dia to sell Turkish business to Yildiz".
11. AFP. (20 June 2014). "Le groupe Carrefour va racheter Dia pour 600 millions d'euros".
12. (2 July 2014). "El grupo Dia compra las acciones de Supermercados El Árbol por un euro". El País.
13. (24 February 2016). "Dia traspasará todas las tiendas de El Árbol a La Plaza".
14. "Spain's DIA to buy 160 supermarkets for 146 mln euros".
15. (10 February 2019). "Por qué DIA sumará 700 cierres en cinco años (y qué pinta El Árbol en todo esto)".
16. (4 April 2018). "DIA Exits China With Sale Of Shanghai Operations To Suning".
17. (20 May 2019). "LetterOne and Santander reach agreement over Dia debt". Financial Times.
18. (2 August 2022). "Dia vende 235 supermercados a Alcampo en España por 267 millones". elpais.com.
19. (9 March 2023). "La CNMC autoriza que Alcampo compre 224 supermercados al Grupo Dia, 41 en Aragón". heraldo.es.
20. "Spanish retailer DIA sells Clarel perfume stores for around 60 mln eur". reuters.com.
21. (August 2023). "Dia studies alternatives to sell its Clarel shops after C2 Private Capital's default".
22. (3 August 2023). "Dia To Exit Portugal, Sells Business To Auchan Retail". esmagazine.
23. "Dia completa la venta de su negocio en Portugal a Auchan por 155 millones".
24. "Dia Group 2023 Earnings Results Presentation".
25. "Dia To Exit Brazil After Selling All Its Stores For 'Symbolic' €100".
26. Bangash, Nasir. "UAE Cosmetics- Health And Beauty Store".