The new type of retail, that is supermarkets, hypermarkets, cash & carry stores and any other type of store introduced in Romania after the Revolution has become a serious business. After over 150 million euros invested in new store openings, the sales made through the new types of retail will amount to two billion euros this year, compared with 1.5 billion last year, therefore about 20% of entire Romanian retail. The investments of other major retail chains are still nowhere to be seen, however.
"The retail in Romania has started to specialise this year due to the development of the Cash & Carry chains, as well as of the hypermarkets and supermarkets, with next year seeing the entry of the hard discounters on the market," the representatives of Selgros Cash & Carry Romania, which operates seven cash & carry stores in Bucharest and in the provinces say.
Carrefour's was the most spectacular development this year. The opening of the two hypermarkets this year in Bucharest (Colentina) and Brasov will allow the company, as its officials say, to double the turnover from the 128 million euros made last year and start making profit.
The four Carrefours opened thus far required more than 140 million-euro investments, while the hypermarket in the Orhideelor area has become the third leading Carrefour in the world in terms of traffic in only a year from opening.
Metro and Billa, two of the oldest foreign companies in the Romanian trade sector have been making profit for a number of years now, as their cumulated revenues derived through the nearly 35 stores exceed one billion euros a year.
Metro is the largest trade company on the Romanian market, with the sales of its 19 stores equalling those of all of its competitors together last year alone. As of this year, however, given that most of the foreign merchants have expanded their store chains, Metro's share in the total sales by the new types of retail will go down.
Still, some players on the market say things are moving slowly in Romania. "The FMCG sector seems to be moving very slowly to me. I was expecting much more. Many more supermarkets, discounters and hypermarkets," Florentin Banu, the chief executive of the Artima supermarket chain feels.
ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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