At a time of significant concentration at the top, several dozen imported brands disappeared, either because they did not find favor with consumers or because they were acquired by the competition and the stores rebranded. Ziarul Financiar identified 20 brands – ten Romanian and ten held by foreign giants that are no longer on the market.
One of the latest examples is local brand Zanfir, which had ten stores. Mega Image supermarket chain bought the Zanfir network in Vrancea from its owners, the Zanfir family. Zanfir was one of the largest independent retailers. The stores have since been rebranded to Mega Image.
Modern retailers like Profi, Mega Image and Carrefour have bought local networks over time which they integrated and thus consolidated their market position, covering the good locations Romanian retailers used to serve.
Profi, for instance, a retailer with some 1,200 stores, at the end of 2019 bought the 20-store chain Maya in Dambovita and Prahova Counties.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)