“We have about 5,000 employees at the moment, but we’re still hiring. We will have at least 100 staff at our new warehouse and hire at least 300 people for the 25 new stores planned for this year,” says Daniel Gross, Penny CEO.
German-held Penny has 276 stores in Romania after having opened 20 last year. The retailer will step up expansion slightly in 2021 to reach the 300-store mark. It will also inaugurate a new warehouse in Filiasi, its fourth in Romania, as it prefers to invest in its own logistics rather than rent.
The investments are part of the long-term plans, which include about 600 stores by 2029.
Personnel turnover is a problem in Romania’s retail sector and stood at 50% on average before the pandemic. With the onset of the pandemic, things changed, at least at Penny.
“In 2020, the pandemic helped us lose staff slower. The turnover now is the best since I’ve been working in retail, less than 25% in 2020. The average in the retail sector used to be 50%, and we did better, 34%.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)