LIDL, H&M and Leroy Merlin set to change face of Romanian retail

This year will see three of Europe's biggest retailers enter the Romanian market, which could change the face of Romanian retail, a 20 billion-euro market.

LIDL, one of the world's most aggressive discount chains, has secured a major position on the market in 2011, after the Competition Council approved the takeover of Plus stores at the end of last year.

LIDL's entry will coincide with the first investments of another long awaited chain on the Romanian market, Swedish giant H&M (Hennes & Mauritz). The retailer will enter in full gear on the Romanian market this spring, when it is set to open its first stores in AFI Palace Cotroceni, Băneasa Shopping City, Plaza România, Bucureşti Mall, in the two Unirea Shopping Centers in Bucharest and Braşov respectively, in Iulius Mall in Timişoara and Cluj and in the shopping area of Palas project in Iaşi.

The third player to have announced its entry on the Romanian market is French DIY chain Leroy Merlin. The French retailer, the second-biggest player on the European market after UK's Kingsfisher and ahead of Praktiker, has not provided details on its market entry strategy, announcing it did not rule out the acquisition of another chain "if such opportunities were to arise."