“We saw growth of more than 25% in the first half, as expected, compared with the first half of 2017, because of network development and like-for-like growth, as well,” says Daniel Cirstea, the Romanian executive who has been running Profi for about three and a half years.
Profi had 800 stores under three brands in mid-year, after having inaugurated about 100 new ones in the first half. It plans to continue expansion at the same pace in the second half.
“We will keep the growth pace of the first half but expect like for like growth to slow down, as a result of consumer confusion.”
Profi officials say that the main obstacles for an even greater development of the business are the availability of the human resources and the non-uniform interpretation of the current legislation by the local authorities. The company posted more than EUR1 billion sales and had about 12,000 employees at the end of 2017.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)