International chains’ aggressive expansion and the crisis have put high pressure on small retail businesses, which, in order to survive, have to either get specialized and come up with something new, or enter the umbrella of a franchise.
Since modern retail was launched in Romania in 1996, the number of district stores has halved, from 150,000 to 70-80,000.
With the launch of the franchise systems, international networks have come to fight not only for available spaces, but also for potential acquisition or franchisee targets.
Amid this battle, the number of LaDoiPasi stores, the franchise of Metro Cash&Carry, fell in the past six months from 700 to 640.
“The pace of store openings through the LaDoiPasi network depends on several factors, such as retailers’ power to survive on a highly competitive market or the aggressive expansion of supermarkets and hypermarkets,” say the representatives of Metro Cash&Carry.
Another reason that may have triggered the decline in the number of stores is small merchants’ shifting from one retailer to another.
In states such as Italy, France or Germany, business families are niche businesses. In Romania, small merchants have adopted this model only recently.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)