The representatives of Kaufland, the leading retailer in Romania by sales revenue, did not wish to comment on the information saying they did not want to go public with the data. Kaufland and sister company Lidl are the only retailers among the 100 largest importers in Romania, climbing year by year. Lidl ranked eighth last year, less than four years from officially entering Romania by takeover of Plus Discount.
The National Statistics Institute does not provide data about the value of the imports of the two retailers, but their position shows they are the chains with highest number of imported products on their shelves.
The two are part of the same group, Schwarz, which has been growing fast worldwide and locally, where its revenue stands at EUR2.5 billion, according to ZF estimates.
Other companies among the largest importers in Romania are Automobile Dacia, Ford and DIS Draxlmaier, Rompetrol and Petrotel Lukoil. However, those companies are also among the largest exporters in the country, because they import raw materials and parts and export finished goods.
Although Kaufland officials would not provide any information about the value of the imports, they did once say they amounted to about 10% of the revenue. Which means EUR170 million to EUR190 million, according to ZF’s estimates.
Kaufland’s climb in the importer ranking can be explained by the network having opened new stores, so even though the value of imports per store remained the same, the overall value increased. Kaufland inaugurated 13 discount hypermarkets last year alone for a total of 102.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)