The survey analyzed the expansion rate and evolution of turnover for 99 retail companies operating stores under 120 brands in the fields of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), fashion, electro-IT, cosmetics, sportwear, footwear, kids stores, jewelry, restaurants and coffee shops, Home & Deco and bookstores.
„With an average turnover increase of 11.3% and 524 new stores, 2017 was another year favorable for the Romanian retail market, despite a result lower than the level reported in 2016. Thus, 2017 was the year in which retailers kept optimizing their networks, which also translated into relocations and store closures, while enjoying a favorable market context in which consumers had an increased appetite for shopping”, said Cristi Moga, Research Consultant, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
The companies surveyed had a total 4,534 stores and a turnover of EUR12.2 billion at the end of 2016, after opening 640 new stores and posting a 15.6% increase in turnover.
FMCG is the only sector in which the retailers surveyed extended their store chains more in 2017 than in the previous year. In this sector, the ten players surveyed opened 298 stores, compared with 249 units in 2016. Nearly 66% of these stores were inaugurated by a single retailer active on the segments of supermarkets and convenience stores, while hypermarket operators inaugurated only five new stores. In this context, the FMCG sector is the only sector in which the increase in turnover is estimated at below 10% in 2017, namely, at 7.8%.