The first store of this type has been opened in Pitesti and has a 1,800-sqm area, 2-3 times less than initial units opened in primary cities such as Bucharest.
“April was marked by two openings: in Arges Mall, Pitesti, we opened the 11th store of Romania, and in Bulgaria, Sofia, we launched the fourth store of this country. Following the development of shopping center projects, we conceived a new store concept, with the first one opened in Pitesti,” says Alina Serban, regional sales manager at Peek & Cloppenburg.
The German fashion retailer entered the local market in 2008 and in the first phase bet on main cities. “This new concept allows us to also reach smaller cities. In this context, we are in talks and plan new openings,” stated Alina Serban.
She added the biggest challenge for the company in Romania is to maintain the level of services on a labor market that suffers from the lack of candidates willing to work in retail. In 2023, the retailer had an average number of 467 employees, just seven more than in 2022.
Even so, the company in 2023 boosted revenues by 10%, to nearly RON600 million, while profit dropped by over 20%, to RON73 million.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)