Thus, the retailer will pick up the pace of expansion in the second half, after having only inaugurated one hypermarket in the first half, in Constanta, according to company officials. They will not say which cities will get new Kaufland stores, though.
“We opened a store in Constanta, in the Viile Noi area, our second hypermarket in the city,” Kaufland representatives said.
The retailer will therefore grow to 110 stores by yearend, which makes it the largest hypermarket chain in Romania, on an over EUR4 billion market where it rivals with Auchan (33 stores), Carrefour (28), Cora (12) and Real (4).
Kaufland is the leader of the local retail industry, having posted EUR1.8 billion in sales last year, an increase of 10% on 2013.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)