Colombia: Tiendas D1 believes that Colombia can accommodate about 3,500 more stores and acceptance of D1 brand grows
- DRC Discount Retail Consulting GmbH
- Jul 27
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 1
Interview magazine Semana with discount retail chain Tiendas D1 president Christian Bäbler (C.B.)
How did Tiendas D1 do in 2024?
Christian Bäbler (C.B.): We did well in terms of turnover, we sold more than 21 trillion colombian pesos (5 BN USD). In terms of profits, it was also a good evolution. In general, a good year for us, but I think for the sector as well, commerce did well, and especially discounters.
What explains these results?
C.B.: A discounter grows in three ways normally.
expansion: we opened more than 200 stores in 2024.
inflation: explains growth in value, but not in volume. Inflation in general was relatively restrained,
growth in volume in like for like, that is, to comparable stores, through a little more assortment and a better shopping experience that has made customers receive D1 as their first purchase option, which in the end is our goal.
How many stores does D1 have?
C.B.: 2,600 stores, a figure that I am rounding up.
How was last year's investment plan?
C.B.: It's a fairly consistent plan year after year. In other words, we try to have stable, sustainable growth, and that makes us avoid aspiring to peaks or exaggerations. And, therefore, nothing out of the ordinary, acceptable growth, 200 stores, of course we would like to open something more, but we have done well in this sense. And as for the rest, normal business development as we had planned.
How much of the investment is for about 200 new stores?
C.B.: About 200 billion COP (50 mio USD) in stores alone, not counting everything that has to be invested in the network. And we must not forget that all this money ultimately stays at home. This also generates an indirect economic impact on many suppliers who help us in the facilities.
SEMANA: In stores, what is the goal?
C.B.: This is a classic question: how many stores fit in Colombia, in this case D1. One could say that, with the ability to capture the market that we have, today we calculate that we can fit about 3,400 or 3,500 stores. But this depends a lot on what one is able to capture. If where one is competing is able to capture more market, one can densify the network more. This is a dynamic issue, but in principle, with our parameters, today we can fit about 1,000 more stores.
This growth in sales has been due to the issue of new categories. What developments have they had?
C.B.: We have the same categories, but we are developing some that were a little, so to speak, dormant or not in our priority and we have put them in a higher priority. Especially fruit and vegetables, one of the main categories in the country in volume and value, as well as meat. Fruit and vegetables is a category bought by one hundred percent of Colombians and that generates frequency. If we want to be the first purchase option, we have to offer fruit and vegetables in our value proposition as well. We have been developing it, we already have practically 25 fruit and vegetable products in the stores, they are not yet so visible at the entrances, we are going to make them more and more visible, but it is working very well for us. People are responding because in the end our product, our quality and our price are also visible in fruit and vegetables.
You see food products, toiletries, but there are others such as utensils or jackets...
C.B.: That is a category that we call extraordinary, which is basically selling products organized in thematic actions with a frequency of approximately 15 days. Every 15 days we change action and what we intend with this is to dynamize our assortment, so that the experience in D1 is not just an experience of a fixed, static assortment, which is not entirely so, because that assortment also evolves, but that the consumer sees that with us every 15 days they have totally different products, totally new, with very good quality as always, but that generate a different dynamic and a different frequency for our stores.
It is not a concept that we have invented, this in the discount in other countries exists, it is called In-and-Out and it works very well. And in addition, I think that it is working better and better for us and customers respond precisely while waiting for the new thematic action.
You mentioned the issue of fruits and vegetables and also that of meat. Have you thought about having meat?
C.B.: We have sausages, some categories already cold that are meat, but we still do not have meat, which is called fresh meat cut, as others have. Of course, we have it on the radar, we have to offer it and we are working on a driver to develop this category as well.
SEMANA: What changed in 2024 compared to 2023? What new scenario was there?
C.B.: We have had a regular growth. We have not noticed such a large variation. I can't say at a structural level what has changed, honestly. Our business at this level has been very stable.
How did this year start?
C.B.: The year has started well, I think for everyone in the sector. And, in general, for the economy. There is one factor that is often overlooked, but which exists: the weather. The weather has an effect. A rainy year impacts consumption versus a not-so-rainy year. This has advantages and disadvantages from many perspectives, but it must be said that this year has started well.
The first quarter grew well. Did April and May hold up?
C.B.: I would say that in general yes. One knows that March and April always have to be analysed together, because there are calendar factors, due to holidays, such as Easter, in which, depending on how it falls, it can be a very good March and a very bad April, and vice versa. So you always have to take them together. On the whole, the truth is that it has gone well, and for our part, it lives up to expectations.
Will growth be in double digits?
C.B.: In total, yes, above 10 percent.
What risk are you seeing?
C.B.: I don't see a special risk and challenge. Of course, we are concerned about the issue of security. This is an issue that, of course, we have on our radar, I think we all have. Due to our capillarity in the territory, with 2,600 stores in more than 530 municipalities, we face situations that are not always pleasant, but apart from this we are optimistic and try to contribute to the country with everything we do.
Are you affected in any way, directly or indirectly, by an escalation in tariffs?
C.B.: Indirectly it could affect, but 90 percent of our products are made and purchased in Colombia.
SEMANA: As part of the expansion plan, have you thought about internationalizing the D1 model?
C.B.: Yes, it has been thought, we are working on it, but there is no decision. At the moment we are in Colombia, we would love to be a Colombian multinational, there are not so many either. At least one multilatina, but at the moment there is no decision and we are working on it.
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