Its sales were lower in all the other countries. In Greece, its home market, for instance, its sales dropped 21% in the first half, while in Cyprus and Bulgaria were 24% and 12% lower.
Romania is the only market of the four Jumbo currently operates on where the retailer posted slightly higher sales compared with the first half of 2019. The first half of 2020 overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, the onset of which in Europe was in February and there were also travel restrictions for people for about four months.
Jumbo has 14 stores in Romania – four in Bucharest and one in Oradea, Arad, Ploiesti, Pitesti, Constanta, Suceava, Bacau, Braila and Brasov each. Jumbo plans to open a store in Craiova in 2021 and launch the Jumbo Romania online store.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)