Romanian retail to grow by over 60% in ten years, report says
Romania is the European market with the highest retail market growth in the last ten years, by 123% between 2000 and 2010, with consultants saying the market's potential continues to be one of the biggest, comparable only to that of Bulgaria, Poland and the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).
"Less mature markets such as Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic States are forecast to see retail sales grow by more than 60% over the next decade, with larger markets such as Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary all poised for growth of more than 40%," say the authors of the study.
At the beginning of this year a series of real estate developers have started investments of millions of euros in cities such as Bucharest, Craiova, Oradea and Constanţa, amid demand from strong European retailers, who are counting on Romania in the long term. Big Romanian cities with an over 60% growth potential are Bucharest, Piteşti and Timişoara, while in Iaşi, Cluj-Napoca, Brăila and Braşov, the market has a potential to grow by over 50%, according to the same study.