In November 2012, Auchan announced it acquired from German group Metro 20 of the latter’s 24 Real hypermarkets in Romania in a larger deal worth EUR1.1 billion, which also included Real hypermarkets in Poland, Ukraine and Russia.
The Romanian Real hypermarkets reduced loss by 39% last year to 73.5 million lei (EUR16.5 million) and Auchan switched to profit of RON3.3 million.
real,- Hypermarket entered the Romanian market in March 2006, when it opened a store in Timisoara (W), and registered loss ever since. In 2007, the company reported loss of RON158 million.
The retailer registered net sales of RON2.89 billion in 2012, down 3.7% on the year.
Auchan is present in Romania since November 2006 and registered loss locally in 2007-2011. It reported sales of RON1.97 billion for 2012, up 25% on the year.
Following the takeover, Auchan becomes the second largest retailer in Romania, after Kaufland, with aggregate sales exceeding EUR1 billion. (EUR1=RON4.3907)