The data are valid for the companies operating under the NACE 5610 ‘Restaurants’ code and submitted their financial reports for the years considered.
The restaurant market remains dominated by three major international chains – McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut, while local chain City Grill is closing the gap to them fast. City Grill operates several restaurant formats. Other entrepreneurial restaurants chains like La Mama and Trattoria Il Calcio are at the top of the ranking, as well as the US-held Subway. ZF took into account for its statistics only the restaurants, as companies that manage bars and cafés operate under a different NACE code.
Unlike other sectors of the economy, many companies (more than half, according to the latest available data) close or go bankrupt in the first year in business. This means new brands and companies emerge in this sector all the time. The growth of the sales of the restaurant market was, after all, driven by the expansion of the major actors – local and international, and by the emergence of new names. One such example is the arrival in Romania of two major US players – Taco Bell and Sbarro in 2017.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)