“The bookstores we own outside Bucharest posted bigger increases than those of Bucharest. The value of the average receipt has also gone up. We are riding a wave of optimism. We have a budget for expansion. We are looking at cities such as Alba Iulia, Bistrita, Galati, Bacau or Targu-Mures, we are in talks for spaces,” Serban Radu, one of the two stakeholders in the bookstore chain, told ZF.
Carturesti at present operates 13 bookstores in Bucharest, and it has come to 25 units outside the capital city, in Timisoara, Cluj, Iasi, Constanta, Oradea, Arad, Pitesti, Brasov, Suceava, Sibiu and Chisinau. The chain also sells its products online.
“Online retail goes well, 20% of sales were generated online last year, against less than 10% ahead of the pandemic. The online segment is rising,” he said.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)