On the other hand, the officials of the company say they will only stop development outside Bucharest and focus on the capital city instead.
Cora posted 1.46 billion lei (EUR333 million) revenue in 2012, according to the latest official data available, the same as in 2008 even though the network grew from three to ten stores.
“The headquarters decided to halt expansion in Romania. Because they are unhappy with the results of Cora in Romania, the shareholders decided stabilizing the existing business was necessary before resuming openings,” market sources say.
Philippe Bouriez, the founder of Cora, passed away this March and sources on the retail market say his heirs are assessing the operations on each separate market to determine their potential.
“They have not made a decision yet about the plots of land the company owns, whether to put them up for sale or keep them, so as to be able to resume expansion once its business recovers,” market sources said.
Four of the 12 Cora hypermarkets are located in Bucharest and the best three stores of the network by sales are those in Lujerului (Militari district west of the city), Pantelimon (east) and Sun Plaza (Berceni, south). Cora’s top performer, the hypermarket in the Lujerului area generates about EUR100 million revenue a year and is among the top three hypermarkets in Romania along with Auchan Titan (east) Carrefour Orhideea (semi-central area of the city).
Several retailers are now assessing their current position to decide whether to continue expansion, stop or leave Romania altogether, since not all the networks are generating satisfactory profit margins for their shareholders.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)