Altex, Romania's biggest retailer of electronics and electrical home appliances, owned by businessman Dan Ostahie, has dropped the third tactical brand, Digit'up, because of consumers' low interest in this concept.
The Digit'up store network, specialised in the IT&C segment and connected services, was launched in late 2007 and was due to be developed nationwide in three years.
"After the first signals, the market's openness to the new proposed concept made us decide to halt it for a period determined by market trend," stated Iuliana Marcu, PR manager with Altex.
Digit'up was designed as a proximity store, with an average sales area of 100 square metres, which sold IT&C, GSM, photo-video products and GSM phone and high-speed Internet services. It exclusively promoted the services of IPTV high-speed Internet provider and Romapel fixed telephony, with sales estimated for 2008 standing at 30m euros.
According to the statements the company's representatives made at the moment Digit'up was launched, developing the network to 100 stores in a three to five-year interval, of which 50 stores in 2008, in cities with at least 30,000 inhabitants, entailed investments worth 5m euros.
At the beginning, the stores operated under Altex Digital brand, being subsequently rebranded as Digit'up, with the opening of the store in Bucharest. By the first months of last year, Altex had opened as many as 10 Digit'up stores in cities such Alba Iulia, Petrosani, Oltenita or Piatra-Neamt.
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