The PIC group, controlled by businessmen Ilie and Cornel Penescu, closed its network of five hypermarkets (in Pitesti, Craiova, Braila, Oradea and Calarasi) in 2009 and 2010, as a result of insolvency brought about by debt that suppliers and banks put at EUR80 million at the time.
“We took over all the locations of the former PIC hypermarkets and for now, we will open our first hypermarket in Pitesti in no more than two months,” Catalin Calinoiu, marketing and sales manager of Succes Nic Com, the operator of the supermarket chain, told ZF.
Succes comprises over 150 stores in nine counties in Romania.
“It will be our largest store, considering the largest format of the Succes chain is a 900 square-meter unit in Constanta.”
The space was rented for a year, real estate market sources say, with the contract put at EUR0.5 million to EUR0.8 million.
PIC officials could not be reached by the time the story was ready for posting.
Sarcina is thus tapping into a hypermarket segment worth EUR2.5 billion and divided among French-held Carrefour, Cora and Auchan and the Germans at Real, after having reached over EUR40 million euro in sales, according to the latest available data. Whereas other local networks such as Univers’all, Ethos and even PIC were driven out of business by competition from international companies, Succes hopes to be successful.
“We are not afraid of competition. We rely on low prices and private labels, considering we have milling and bakery operations and our own slaughterhouses, and if we make one leu eventually it will be very good,” Catalin Calinoiu said.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)