The top leader of the Colombian discount store has renewed its concept of business, reaching 400 openings and providing financial services in its red neighborhood
Between the 6th and 9th of October 2026, Tiendas D1 presented a new concept of the company that renewed its points of sale and announced an alliance with an assurance to offer safety to its customers. Its president, Christian Bäbler, set the goal of opening 400 new towns, over a red of 2.800 in 540 municipalities.
The analysis is the signature of the Food Retail Italia group, a company that operates in the markets of Latin America as a bridge between Italian industrial production and the Latin American retail mass market. D1 is, for us, the clearest case of how a discount store is converted into neighborhood infrastructure.
The past few weeks have followed a movement that has been underway: from the months of July to September, D1 acts as a banking correspondent of Grupo Aval and Nubank, which allows customers to make deposits and withdraw money in the bank. The shop, therefore, must be just a place to buy and becomes a point of daily services.
The nearby discount store is converted into platforms: food, pay, bank, security. This is the same path that OXXO took in Mexico with its financial services. In countries with high informality and low banking, those who control the neighborhood bank have a daily relationship with thousands of families. For traditional supermarkets, your expertise is not just about price, but about frequency of visits.
