International retailers are expected to recruit more than 10,000 people by the end of the year for the new stores they are to open, which will take the number of modern retail stores to more than 400.
This year has proved to be the most dynamic year for modern consumer goods retail, with around 170 openings scheduled, which makes international retailers some of the most active employers on the labour market.
"In general, we are having trouble on the labour market in cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants," says Adrian Viman, general manager of Kaufland Romania. The company has 4 more openings scheduled for this year, for which it intends to recruit 750 to 800 people.
The recruitment en masse for new hypermarkets and supermarkets is conducted directly by the retail companies, which only turn to specialist agencies in order to fill management positions or to recruit individuals for the company headquarters.
According to Carrefour Romania data, the retail market, which this year was estimated at 40 billion euros, is expected to reach 100 billion euros by the end of 2010.
Andreea Mihai, the marketing manager at Carrefour Romania says that recruitment ads are no longer as effective as they were a few years ago, because of the lack of available workforce on the Romanian market. Carrefour is experiencing the most trouble finding staff in Bucharest, because of the low unemployment rate in the city.
The shortage of labour is at its worst in fields such as fresh produce, pastry, labour safety and retail controlling, believes Adriana Pita, The number of employees per hypermarket ranges between 200 and 500 people depending on its size.
With most of the planed openings scheduled for the last 4 or 5 months of the year, retailers began the recruitment progress 3 or 4, or even 6 months ahead of the planned openings.
The Auchan hypermarket chain, which entered the Romanian market last year, has utilised job fairs in targeted cities as part of its recruitment strategy, through which it informs potential candidates of Auchan's plans for the area. Management positions are filled at least six months before the opening of a store, because the necessary training entails a longer period of time.
Experienced, skilled managers are hard to find on the retail market, believes Kaufland's Adrian Viman. They are also hard to keep.
"Professionals with retail experience are harder to find than those experienced in acquisitions, IT or finance (who are usually employed at the headquarters of the store operator)," explain officials of SPAR supermarket and hypermarket chain operator. The retailer, however, has no trouble finding staff for its basic positions in its SPAR stores.
SPAR is set to begin its recruitment process in the capital city, with four stores planned to open in Bucharest this year.
Modern retail (hypermarket, supermarket, cash & carry or discount stores) is expected to total approximately 450 units, which will account for more than 40% of consumer goods sales by the end of the year, according to a survey conducted by MEMRB Retail Tracking Services.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
