UPDATE 2-Soriana sees same-store sales up in 2010

* Total sales seen rising 15 pct year-on-year

* CEO cites rebound from recession (Adds quote on challenge to Wal-Mart, background)

MONTERREY, Mexico Feb 8 (Reuters) - The head of Soriana (SORIANAB.MX), Mexico's No. 2 retailer, said on Monday that rising consumption would push sales at stores open more than a year up by as much as 8 percent in 2010.

"Compared to 2009, consumption has improved a lot. We expect growth of 7 to 8 percent in same-store sales," said Soriana Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Martin.

Martin said total sales, including new stores, would rise 15 percent year-on-year as Mexico rebounds from a severe recession and the company expands into new cities.

The company aims to challenge top retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX) by expanding out of its heartland in northern Mexico, although Walmart has three times the number of stores across the country at around 1,400 outlets.

"Part of our policy is to gain market share," Martin told reporters at a conference in the northern city of Monterrey, where the company is based.

Soriana will add 40 new stores to its network this year, the company's chief financial officer, Aurelio Adan, told Reuters in December.

About a quarter of those openings will be a new, yet-to-be-named store format aimed at small cities where Soriana will offer staples as well as drugstore, bakery and tortilla-making services.

"The company seems to be confident in its potential to increase its earnings margins in the next two or three years," Credit Suisse said in a recent report and which it recommends investors buy the stock.

Soriana last year started a cost-cutting plan that has allowed it to increase its profitability despite a fall in sales due to Mexico's deep recession. (Reporting by Gabriela Lopez; editing by Gunna Dickson)