Map of apparel retailers: where fashion giants opened 175 stores

International apparel retailers, especially discount ones, have expanded further over the past two years despite the shrinking shopping budgets, so that 17 of the largest store networks at European level have come to operate 175 stores in Romania, reveals a ZF survey.
These companies, such as Inditex, C&A or Marks & Spencer, are European leaders in terms of apparel sales, having joint annual turnovers of over 50bn euros and networks of around 18,000 stores.
However, not all networks have expanded domestically. Thus, while Takko, Orsay or New Yorker have come to operate networks of 20-30 stores, Italy's Benetton have closed down all the 13 stores of Romania, with the brand being present domestically only through three franchise stores. On the other hand, Germany's New Yorker has opened 12 or the 17 stores of the network in the past two years, and at least three new launches are scheduled for this year.
"Romania's consumer market is now at the same level with countries such as Hungary or the Czech Republic, whose population is half that of Romania. Retailers' strategy is to enter now, to 'plant the seed' to grow with the market, which should double in ten years," explains Klaus Reisenauer, a shareholder in Oasis real estate developer, which builds shopping projects for clients such as C&A and Takko.