D&S to Open in Peru, Begin Process of Internationalization

Chile's largest retail chain, D&S (NYSE:DYS), announced Thursday plans to open three new retail outlets in Peru during 2009. D&S is among the ten largest retail chains in Latin America, and operates the brand names Lider and SuperBodega Acuenta. Three new supermarkets will be opened in Lima, Peru, next year, under the discount retail brand SuperBodega Acuenta, Peruvian news agency ANDINA reports.

The SuperBodega outlets in Lima will be opened in areas with medium to low income populations, which are the target segments for the SuperBodega brand, according to the company's CEO, Enrique Ostalé.

The expansion will be the first steps in a process of internationalization of the retail chain, Ostalé said.

He added:

We have to learn, to adapt, and to see what works primarily, as we did in Chile when we launched the SuperBodega stores. We will open three stores, gain experience, and make the propriate adjustments, which is the most prudent thing to do.

D&S' share price has not reacted notably to the news, trading flat yesterday, and up (+0.27%) today, Friday. At the current price of Ch$186.5, the company's shares trade at a P/E of 21.65, and a YTD performance of (-25.82%).

Book-to-Market ratio is 0.50, and as of September 30, 2008, the ratio between TEV/EBITDA (Total Enterprise Value/EBITDA) was 51.07.

The company's latest interim statements can be found in our download section.