“Pepco is bringing a logistics investment of some 27.2 billion forints (EUR 84 million) to Hungary to enable it to serve all of the countries of the region from Gyál in Pest County”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday in Budapest at a press conference to announce Pepco’s investment.

Mr. Szijjártó told the press that the supermarket chain, which markets home furnishing and clothing (non-food) products will be establishing a 100 thousand square metre warehouse facility in Hungary. The investment will create over a thousand jobs by 2022, in addition to which, by distributing Hungarian products Pepco will also be creating a market for domestic enterprises, in view of which the Government is providing 1.9 billion forints (EUR 6 million) in funding towards the investment. “In addition to the state funding, Hungary’s favourable investment environment also contributed to Pepco choosing Hungary as its latest investment destination over its competitors”, the Minister said.

He highlighted that last year the logistics sector, which generates 6.2 percent of GDP, produced some 4 trillion forints (EUR 12.5bn) and employed almost 300 thousand people, more than the automotive industry, and the 34 percent increase in logistics investments is twice the growth average of domestic investments. Managing Director of Pepkor Hungary Ltd. Robin Taylor explained the investment in Gyál, which is contributing to the development of company infrastructure, with the company’s rapid expansion. “The decision was justified by the new centre’s geographical location and the advanced infrastructure, as well as by favourable experiences”, he added.

The region’s Member of Parliament Lajos Szűcs (Fidesz) said the city’s long-term development projects were responsible for the fact that Gyál and the surrounding settlements are regularly receiving major investment projects. He called workforce supply the next major task, following which investors, the state and local government can all be the beneficiaries of Pepco’s development project.

Polish supermarket chain Pepco was established in 2004 and operates 1600 stores in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria, employing a total of 16,000 people. The Pepco centre in Gyál will be completed by spring 2020. The new centre is one of the company’s largest investments and will also be one of the largest warehouses in Hungary, from which Pepco will be supplying its 140 Hungarian stores in addition to a further 500 shops in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. The recruitment of new staff will already begin this month and 400 people will be hired by next spring.

The company’s Hungarian subsidiary Pepkor Hungary Ltd., which was established in 2015, realised 36 billion forints (EUR 112.5 million) in turnover and 3 billion forints (EUR 9.4 million) in after-tax profits in the business year that ended last September. In the previous year, the company realised 22 billion forints (EUR 68.7 million) in turnover and 2 billion forints (EUR 6.25 million) in after-tax profits.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)