Since the beginning of the year, Kaufland Romania opened four stores and plans to reach a national hypermarket network of 90 units by the end of the year. In 2012, the company opened ten new stores and had 81 stores at the end of the year.
Kaufland is the biggest retailer in Romania by sales, overtaking Metro Cash&Carry and Carrefour. Last year, discount hypermarkets had net sales of RON6.4 billion (EUR1.4 billon), up 15% from 2011, and a net profit of RON274.5 million (EUR61.6 million), up 64% on the year.
Metro Cash & Carry Romania had sales of EUR1.018 billion last year, 4% lower than in 2011, while Carrefour sales stood at RON4.28 billion (EUR962 million), up 6.37% on the year.
Kaufland opened its first store in Romania in 2005. The company is part of German group Lidl & Schwartz, which also operates the Lidl discount chain in Romania.