Carrefour to reach 1bn euros in 2010

Hypermarket network Carrefour Romania estimates sales worth one billion euros in 2010, as a result of the increase in the number of outlets. “By 2010 we will definitely reach 1 billion euros in turnover. We set out to open stores in all cities with over 150,000 inhabitants,” said Jacobo Caller Celestino, general manager of Carrefour Romania. He estimates business worth 600 million euros for this year, with the value to increase by 10-15% next year. In 2005, the only private companies in Romania to have exceeded one billion euros in turnover were Petrom, Galati-based Mittal Steel, Rompetrol, Metro and Dacia. Carrefour is the biggest hypermarket operator on the local market; its officials announced Romania is a strategic location, one of the top five markets targeted by aggressive expansion plans in the next period. “The only difference between the Romanian and the Spanish consumer is the purchasing power,” added Celestino, who has several years’ experience on the Spanish market.