Intersport leaves Unirii space and is replaced by Raiffeisen

Intersport, one of the world's biggest sporting goods retailers, is closing its store of Piata Unirii area to move it to Bucuresti Mall, say the company's officials.

"We're relocating the store of Unirii to Vitan Mall because in Romania people prefer going to the mall as they have car parks there and as rents are lower in malls," said Akis Ionas, general manager of Genco Trade, the company bringing Intersport in Romania.

The Intersport of Bucuresti Mall will be located on the ground floor, on an area of around 1,000 square metres and will fill a space previously taken up by Gmarket supermarket.

Intersport is also set to open a store in Plaza Mall this year, but Ionas provided no data on it. He added there were also talks for new stores likely to be opened this year, but gave no details.

The space of Unirii, where Intersport rented around 500 square metres according to the company's officials, will be taken up by Raiffeisen Bank, according to Intersport officials.