“We decided to slow down expansion a bit in the first part of the year, but later stepped it up again towards the end of the first half because the business targets have been adjusted a little over the year, plus space became available. We’ve opened 35 stores since the beginning of the year.”
Lensa entered its fast-paced expansion phase in 2022, when it initially planned to open 12 stores but ended up opening 24. At the end of last year, it had 39 stores in 25 cities and this year’s inaugurations put 10 new cities on the retailer’s map.
“We have at least two stores in big cities like Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi, Constanta, but opened one store each in smaller cities like Slatina, Sfantu Gheorghe, Barlad, Zalau and Roman.”
It also opened its first store in the Republic of Moldova in July and added two more in October.
It plans to go to a new country in the coming months, and is looking at its first location in Bulgaria, which will open by the end of the year or early next year. It also plans to add four of five more stores in Romania by the end of 2023.
Lensa’s sales stood at RON139 million in 2022 and the retailer is aiming for at least 40% growth this year. The number of employees reached 750, with 20 people staffing its Republic of Moldova locations.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)