Retailers invest 70m euros in stores at yearend to catch holiday season

Twelve of the biggest retailers on the Romanian market, in sectors such as DIY (BauMax, Dedeman and Hornbach), food retail (Kaufland, MiniMax, Profi, RED Market, Plus) and electronics & home appliances (Altex, Domo and Flanco) have either finalised or are in the process of opening 20 new stores before Christmas, following investments estimated at 70 million euros, according to a ZF analysis.

The fashion of opening stores ahead of winter holidays seems to have returned on the segment of electronics and home appliances and on the DIY segment, two of the retail markets hardest-hit in the past two years, while hypermarkets and mall developers have been less willing to expand at the end of this year.
A year ago, in December 2009, Flanco representatives announced the company had become insolvent. Now they want to open four stores in two weeks in order to take advantage of the higher appetite for consumption specific to December, when companies in the sector can make 15-20% of one year's sales. Altex chose to open in the Family Center projects in Botoşani and Giurgiu, while Domo opened a 2,000 square-metre store in Bucharest's Vitantis shopping centre this past weekend.