Wilms, 55, who helped start modern retail in Romania when Metro Cash&Carry entered the market two decades ago, will leave the country to take an international position with a real estate and retail investment consultancy firm, the sources added.
The executive left Real upon completion of his three-year term there. Wilms took the reins of Real in 2013, after the German retailer had already sold 20 of is 24 hypermarkets in Romania to French-held Auchan. There are only four Real stores left in Romania and upon Wilms’ appointment, the German group officials announced he would handle the strategic and conceptual repositioning of the four hypermarkets. They posted 250 million lei (EUR55.4 million) revenue in 2015, 21% more than in 2014.
Before joining Real, Dusan Wilms had run Metro Cash&Carry for four years, which was his second term at the helm of that company. (EUR1=RON4.5070)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)