Billa network, the biggest player on the domestic supermarketmarket, plans to step up expansion next year, after having reachedthe highest number of store openings in one year since enteringRomania at the end of 2009.
"Year 2010 will see stepped-up expansion on the Romanian market, aswe're due to double the average growth pace of recent years," Billarepresentatives stated.
In the past three years, the retailer has opened 22 new stores,with the average annual expansion pace standing at seven. Adoubled-up pace would mean 14 new stores added to Billanetwork.
The company this year opened four supermarkets, in Sibiu, Bacau,Petrosani and Falticeni (Suceava) and announced another 6 expansionprojects were scheduled to be finished by 2010.
The retailer's representatives chose not to specify the value ofinvestments in the new stores, but they could be estimated at 10-20million euros for the entire 2009.
The segment of supermarkets, whose weight in food trade dropped by1% in 2008, getting to 14% of the market, this year grew at afaster pace as a result of expansion investments by the threebiggest networks on the market, Billa, Carrefour Express and MegaImage.
On the other hand, smaller networks on the market, operated bydomestic investors, including Spar, Ethos or Primavara, resizedtheir sales areas by closing down some unprofitable stores amidfalling sales.
Foreign retailers also made moves to resize some sales areas. Thus,Billa store in Cluj-Napoca was downsized to half, after the Germanoperator gave a 1,200-square metre area to Altex retailer ofelectronics and electrical home appliances.
As a matter of fact, Billa in the past year has counted on a formatof supermarkets with areas almost 50% smaller than the network's2008 average, opening stores of 500-1,000 square metres.
Billa Romania is part of Germany's Rewe group, the second biggestplayer in food trade in Romania.
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