Pepco Kicks Off Q1 with 4.3% Growth, Boosted Margins, and Strategic Expansion

Pepco Group enters fiscal 2026 with Pepco as the locomotive and Dealz as the brake. The group, of Polish origin and registered in the Netherlands, has reinforced its commitment to price in an environment of still-contained consumption in part of Europe.

The company closed the first quarter of the financial year, ended December 31st, 2025, with sales of €1.443 billion, up 4.3% at constant exchange rates. The growth reflected the strength of Pepco, partially offset by the temporary impact of the exit of the FMCG offering and a weaker quarter at Dealz.

On a like-for-like basis, the group posted like-for-like growth of 0.1%. Excluding the effect of the FMCG offering, like-for-like stood at 3.3% in the quarter.

The Pepco format posted sales of €1.342 billion, up 5.2% at constant exchange rates. The brand concentrated the group’s momentum in a particularly demanding period due to the promotional intensity of the Christmas campaign.

Pepco has accelerated in December and supports Iberia, Italy and Poland

The company attributes this performance to volume-driven growth and the strategy of reinforcing price leadership. In this context, Pepco posted a positive like-for-like performance in key markets such as Poland, Iberia and Italy, and highlighted the performance of Western Europe, with double-digit growth excluding FMCG.

Growth was also supported by expansion, with Pepco opening 78 stores in the quarter and closing 27, with 51 net openings, to close the period with 4,066 stores.

Dealz is the group’s smallest discount chain, concentrated in Poland, and currently operates 344 stores. Following the sale of Poundland, the business went through an operational reorganization process which, according to the company, impacted the start of the quarter. In figures, Dealz posted a 6.2% decline in sales at constant exchange rates, to €101 million.

The company explained that October and November were marked by disruptions linked to the migration of its operating platform and that December saw a “material” like-for-like recovery, without specifying additional figures.

Dealz has fallen after the sale of Poundland and the group is preparing its exit

Pepco Group maintains the Dealz divestiture process and puts its completion in 2026. In parallel, Dealz has not added any new openings in the period and has kept its store perimeter stable.

In terms of profitability, the group’s gross margin stood at 49.4%, an improvement in line with the last quarter of 2025, despite continuing to invest in price to sustain the value proposition.

Pepco Group expects sales growth of 6% to 8% in 2026, with an estimated adverse impact of around two points due to the exit of the FMCG offer, especially visible in the first half of the year.