Auchan delays openings in Timisoara and Constanta until next year

The Auchan hypermarket network will now open hypermarkets in Timisoara and Constanta next year, which were initially planned for 2008, due to dependence on the progression of construction works for the shopping centres that will house them. In Timisoara, the company will open a hypermarket as part of an expansion to the Iulius Mall shopping centre, and close the supermarket operated currently in the mall. In Constanta, the network will have a store in Polus Center, which will open in the first half of 2009. The company could, in the future, also expand to Arad. According to information from real estate developer Meinl European Land, the Auchan hypermarkets will be anchors for two retail projects in Bucharest and Arad. The Bucharest-based project, Militari Shopping Center, currently includes a Praktiker store, and is to expand with an Auchan hypermarket, a Media Galaxy store and a shopping gallery that will include several retailers.