Neutral’s biggest ever store among new expansion plans

John Gallagher

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A new megastore at Chuy will be the next in the retailer’s portfolio of border shops

Uruguayan border store specialist Neutral is to build on the expansion programme it initiated during the first half of 2007, the company has revealed to RavenFox.com. Among the plans for several new shops next year is the group’s biggest ever outlet, in Chuy.

The Chuy store will be over 2,500sq m (26,900sq ft) and will offer a “unique shopping experience for the Brazilian traveller”, Neutral CEO Daniel Pomies told RavenFox.com. He added: “We have bought the land and we will be defining the final design problems over the next few days – all I can say at the moment is that it will be very different from what is on the border at the moment.”

Pomies said that sales had been “extraordinary” in the first eight months of 2007, although he could not put a figure on the growth, which had been distorted by the opening of a new 1,100sq m (11,836sq ft) store in Rio Branco and a 650sq m (6,994sq ft) outlet in Rivera at the end of last year. He said: “Growth has been fantastic and we are optimistic that this will continue for the rest of the year.”

Neutral is also planning to build new stores in the towns of Bella Union and Aceguá, said Pomies. “The government included these two towns in the border duty-free programme for tourists earlier this year—we have already looked at a couple of potential outlets but this project is on hold until the government sets up the bonded warehouses which are a prerequisite for sales in both towns.”

Neutral now has six border stores, but Pomies confirmed that the company had not forgotten about the airport duty-free business, and will reopen at the Rosario airport in Argentina in the final quarter of 2007. “We are aiming to open a revamped 80sq m (861sq ft) departure store and a smaller arrival store at the end of October or beginning of November,” said Pomies. “International flights have increased this year at the airport and we expect new flights to be added for the high season in December and January.”