A major supermarket chain announced Wednesday that it was expanding its operations in Yesha. The Victory supermarket chain announced that it was opening a branch in the Samaria town of Elkana. Victory will be taking over an existing market in the town and expanding it, adding the Elkana branch to the existing 18 branches of the discount supermarket.
Elkana is not the first foray into Yesha for Victory; the chain also has a branch in Oranit, which straddles the 1948 armistice line and is just east of that line. Elkana, located on Road 5 (the Trans-Samaria Highway) is well within the areas liberated by the IDF in the 1967 Six Day War. The market is the only one in Elkana, located in the town's business center. Currently, Elkana has about 3,000 families, but is set to increase its population significantly in the near future, as several housing projects under construction are completed.
Eyal Ravid, chairman of the Victory chain, said that the company decided on the new branch because “Elkanah is a growing community with thousands of households, and is typified by a population with a high socioeconomic level. Se intend to expand the operations of the branch, in order to contribute to the continued growth of the chain.”