Expansion

Selgros Cash & Carry, the second cash & carry store chain in Romania, is speeding up its expansion in the west of the country. Selgros opened the eighth store in its network in Oradea last week, with two further stores scheduled for opening in cities in western Romania, sources say. Besides Oradea, Selgros Cash & Carry Romania owns 3 stores in Bucharest, and one each in Brasov, Targu Mures, Constanta and Timisoara. The investment in these stores has exceeded 120 million euros, with one Selgros Cash & Carry store normally costing 15 million euros. The next two Selgros stores to be opened will be in Cluj Napoca and Arad, the mayor of Arad, Gheorghe Falca, said. Selgros made more than 250 million euros in turnover last year, up nearly 50% on the previous year. The company, which now employs over 2,500 people, also managed to break even for the first time last year. Selgros came to Romania in 2001 when it opened its first store in Brasov, where its Romanian headquarters are also located. It proceeded to open three more stores in the following year. By 2003, it had slowed its rate of expansion to two stores per year, saying at the time that it was being “more careful with its investments”.