Mega Image officials would not comment, but if the opening pace in the first part of the year, 19 stores so far, continues, the 80 store target for 2012 could be reached.
Mega Image, which operates the supermarkets by the same name and the Shop & Go convenience stores, has focused on Bucharest and the nearby cities since entering the market, so that this is where most of its 124 stores are.
Moreover, the retailer’s plans focus on the same area, market sources say. The network has expanded south to Giurgiu, north to Brasov and west to Arges County. The only county east of Bucharest where the company opened stores is Constanta.
Mega Image operates supermarkets and convenience stores therefore it can easily open stores on the ground floor of apartment buildings and in spaces close to the residential areas.
The exit of a major competitor on the market, mic.ro created a big opportunity for other retailers operating convenience stores, so that it is no surprise that Mega Image or METRO took advantage of it, explains Adrian Comaneci, manager with consultancy company Contrast Management Consulting.
Metro Cash & Carry Romania, the largest company operating in local trade by turnover in 2010, launched a franchise project on the local market at the beginning of the year, called La doi pasi (two steps away). The project targets the 70,000 traditional retailers, a EUR7 or EUR8 billion market, which could become franchisees of the German company. A number of 150 such stores have been opened so far, the La doi pasi website says.
The difficult economy has changed Romanian consumers’ behavior. Whereas they used to go to hypermarkets to do their shopping during the boom days and buy a whole week’s worth of supplies, now they tend to go to stores close to their home or workplace to save time and also shop there more often and buy fewer products.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)