Spain: Retail cooperative Unide to join Grupo IFA

Unide, a cooperative distribution company with retail outlets across Spain, is to merge with Grupo IFA, a grouping of 33 affiliate retail companies.

Unide was founded in 1931 under the Ducpra name, and operates around 1,500 stores in Spain employing over 500 staff. In 2013 it generated a turnover of €254 million ($315 million).

IFA Group has over 62,000 employees and generates €10,315 million ($12,796 million)  in annual sales. The merger of the two organisations will create a combined entity with a total approaching 5,500 outlets.

Unide has itself been embarking on expansion over the past year. During the course of 2014 the cooperative opened 35 new branches across the country, 19 operating under the Udaco name, generating a total of 138 new jobs.

Source: Granconsumo.tv / Financial Food