Three networks opened only one store, and three more chose to sit and wait, while Cora closed the hypermarket in Arad.
Although many networks announced ambitious expansion plans early in the year, Profi was the only one that did as announced, growing to 335 stores, 60 more than at the end of 2014. The Enterprise Investors owned supermarket chain might reach 375 to 380 stores by yearend if it keeps going at the same pace.
“We set out to open more stores every year than we did the year before,” Daniel Cirstea, general manager of Profi in Romania, says.
“This year we will exceed the number of openings in 2014 this month or early in October. I want us to end the year with more than 100 new stores.”
The retailers in Romania are expected to open up to 150 new stores by yearend if they stick to the plans announced. Those to open most stores will be Mega Image (80 to 85) and Profi, according to ZF data.
Mega Image officials announced they would expand at the same pace as in 2014, when the chain inaugurated more than 100 stores under various formats and brands. The company opened more stores in the second half than in the first.
Local modern retail sources say only four networks are still opening stores at a steady pace and those are Mega Image, Profi, Kaufland and Lidl. German-held Kaufland and Lidl, part of the Schwartz group, have inaugurated 10 to 15 stores each every year.
Kaufland is not only the leader of the local modern retail market but also the only large format network that keeps opening stores at a fast pace. It announced plans for 7 to 9 stores this year, but has opened only one so far.
“If the Germans announced they would open a specific number of stores they will do it, because they are budgeted and they stick to their budgets. There can only be delays,” a modern retail source says.
Unlike supermarkets and convenience stores, which can open at any time of the year because do not need a lot of work and investment, large format stores open in the spring or the fall.
Carrefour is to open a hypermarket in Timisoara in the NEPI-owned complex this fall. The mall there is scheduled for opening in 2016 but Carrefour will be inaugurated early. Cora and Auchan have no openings planned, according to ZF data.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)