Chilean department store retailer Ripley Corp. SA plans to invest $272 million in Colombia through 2015, the company said in a Tuesday filing with local regulators.
Several Chilean retailers, including Cencosud SA, have expanded their operations into other Latin American nations as the local market of 17 million people is thought to be small.
Ripley, Chile’s fourth-largest retailer, plans to open a department store in Colombia in the first half of 2013, the company said.
In October, the company said it was evaluating the Colombian market, calling it “very attractive.”
Ripley has 39 stores in Chile and 15 in Peru.
Cencosud and department store company SACI Falabella operate in the Colombian market and despite its financial woes, Empresas La Polar SA had announced plans to also enter that market.
Ripley’s shares on Tuesday closed 0.8% lower from the previous session at 502.43 pesos each ($1.02). In the past 52 weeks, the company has traded at a high of CLP654.93 and a low of CLP389.68.
The retailer filed its investment plans after the local stock market closed Tuesday.