The network currently comprises 50 stores after having opened 14 in 2011 and plans to expand at the same rate as in the past years, said Milan Radin, general manager of Drogerie Markt in Romania. The company will also hire 50 people as a result of the new openings.
The German retailer came in Romania with a business model already tested on the neighboring markets like Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland for a number a years. The company owns 250 stores in Hungary, for instance.
Drogerie Markt entered the local market on a segment that no other company had tapped into until then. Whereas German giants like Metro Cash&Carry and Kaufland compete in the second of food retail with ten other networks, DM has no direct competitor. This store format is very popular in Western Europe.
The German company is currently looking for street front space or space inside shopping centers to expand its Romanian network.
(English version by Loredana Frățilă-Cristescu)