The Romanian retail market will attract a new player on the discounter-type store segment - miniMAX Discount. This is not an international brand, but a network developed by an expat who made an international brand of this sector known on the Romanian market and has now started a business on his own.
"We intend to open ten discounter-type stores in the smaller cities in Romania this year. The first such stores, however, will be built in Bucharest, where the central warehouse is, and around it, on an up to 250km radius, that is in southern Romania," Rainer Exel, general manager of miniMAX Discount stated.
Rainer Exel had previously developed the XXL Mega Discount! network in Romania since 2000, that is the discounter division of the German Rewe Group. He decided to build his own discounter network at the end of last year. Exel brought on board as shareholder the second highest-ranking XXL Mega Discount! official, sales manager Andreas Kampf, and is now in talks for attracting other shareholders.
"Most of the Romanian consumers do not have access to modern retail types, because the major international chains like Metro, Carrefour or Cora have no intention of opening large stores in small cities with a population of less than 200,000. It is precisely these towns, with a population of above 30,000 that make up the niche we want to cover by miniMAX Discount stores," Exel explains.
He added the miniMAX Discount stores would come with 1,000 sqm commercial area, eight cash registers and about 100 parking spots. Every store will require 750,000 euro investments.
"We will open 20 more stores next year and plan to eventually come to total 100 stores in Romania," the miniMAX Discount official says.
ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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