The store to be opened in Baneasa (in the vicinity of the Ikea store) covers nearly 2,000 sqm, plus annexes.
Nicolaescu said Mega Image’s strategy is to reach its customers at a 500-meter distance, therefore, he added, there still is huge potential for expansion both in capital Bucharest and in other cities.
As regards customers’ payment behaviour, 20% of total transactions were made by card this year, namely, 173 million transactions, and the average basket of goods is below RON35.
The share of contactless payments in total card transactions rose from 2.7% in May to 25% in September this year. Contactless payments require no physical connection between the consumer payment device and the physical POS terminal.
Mega Image currently has 440 stores, after opening a new unit Friday, and 500,000 clients daily. It also has a logistics center of 33,500 square meters, and a second one, covering 33,000 sqm, is under construction.
Mega Image sales in Romania rose over 10% on the year in the third quarter of 2015, following the VAT cut on food items starting June 1, and this evolution enhanced the results of Belgian group Delhaize in Southeast Europe.
Founded in 1995 and part of Belgian group Delhaize, Mega Image is the most extensive supermarket chain in Romania, with 440 stores under the brands Mega Image, Shop&Go, AB COOL FOOD, and Gusturi Romanesti.
Delhaize will be acquired by Dutch group Royal Ahold for nearly EUR9.32 billion in stocks, being the largest transaction in the retail industry in nearly ten years.