Moreover, in two years the French group plans to mark another two strategic points in Romanian retail, Timisoara and Piata Obor of Bucharest, where it has already rented spaces in shopping centers due to be built.
“In September, we will open the store of Vulcan platform, Bucharest, followed by the hypermarket of Targu-Jiu in October. Also, next year we have scheduled openings in Mega Mall, on Electroaparataj platform of Bucharest, and in Timisoara, projects generated in the wake of talks initiated three years ago,” Anca Damour, managing director at Carrefour Property, the real estate arm of the French group, told ZF.
“For 2016, we’ve signed a contract with the developers of Veranda project, of Prodplast platform in Obor area, so that we can say activity on the hypermarket segment is picking up,” added Damour.
Carrefour, with revenue of above EUR1 billion in Romania in 2013, has a 25-hypermarket network in the country, after the group opened just six new stores of this format in 2009-2013 period and closed down two units in Armonia Center projects of Braila and Arad in the same period.
For the coming period, the group has set an expansion pace of around two hypermarkets per annum, after it hit an expansion peak of ten units in 2008.
“We’ve learnt from that period, so that the new stores will be located inside the cities, within top shopping centers,” stated Damour.
All the four hypermarkets Carrefour will open in 2014 and 2015 are located in shopping centers developed by South-African-held NEPI, which also owns another four shopping centers where the French group holds stores.
“I can say we met NEPI at the right time, when most speculative investors that came to Romania decided to leave. I believe this is a lucrative partnership for both groups”.
Carrefour also signed a rental contract for a space in Korona mall of Brasov, set to be developed by Poland’s Echo group. Also, according to ZF information, the French group is in talks with Portuguese-held Sonae Sierra on a tie-up for the opening of a store in the future project ParkLake Plaza to be delivered in 2016 in Titan district.
Is there still room for new hypermarkets in Romania? “I believe there’s plenty of room, particularly in Bucharest”.
While in the first years after it arrived in Romania, in 2001, Carrefour expanded mainly in its own projects, after the crisis the French group bought no more land plots in Romania, preferring to rent spaces in other developers’ projects.
Anca Damour says the level of rents for a hypermarket ranges between EUR5 and EUR10 per square meter and believes land plots currently have “fair, affordable prices”, but does not give any details about a possible purchase.
Instead, the French group has recently sold a 15,000-sqm land plot near Colentina district to DIY retailer Dedeman, while the commercial gallery of the project is about to be expanded by around 3,000 square meters in the wake of EUR2.7m investments.
“We’re in full process of modernizing the assets we hold in our portfolio”, said Anca Damour. She has worked for Carrefour since September 2002 and after seven years in the law department she came to be in charge with expansion before being appointed as managing director of Carrefour Property in 2011.
“Our standard stores have remained unchanged, namely at around 8,000 square meters of sales area. Instead, storage spaces have been reduced as we have the two logistic platforms of Cefin and Deva. About the market I can say it has matured,” concluded Anca Damour.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)