Food retail chains lose breath

Investments of leading Romanian food retailers, owners of the PIC, Trident, Primavara and Ethos chains, are seven times lower than those made by foreign retailers in the first half of the year.

The large supermarket and hypermarket networks controlled by Romanian investors added three new stores to their chains this year, in the wake of 16 million-euro investments, but closed down five. Most Romanian entrepreneurs are hoping to end the year with the same number of stores as in 2008, with two chains – Primavara and Ethos – deciding to close down those units that made no profit or were burdened by very high rents. 

On the other hand, the 15 international chains operating on the Romanian market opened 38 new stores in the first half of the year, following 105 million euros in overall investments.

As far as international chains are concerned, only SPAR, operated by a Romanian company – Astral Impex in Arad – closed down stores this year. The retailer announced in January that it was shutting down the store in Targu Mures, the chain’s only hypermarket, and carry on exclusively on the supermarket segment. The store had been opened in December 2006, in the wake of a 3.6 million-euro investment.

In turn, G’Market, a local chain operated by Turkish group Anchor, shut down a supermarket in Bacau at the end of last year, as it failed to post profits.

The first step back by an international hypermarket chain is anticipated in the second half of this year after the closure for at least six months of Armonia Center mall in Braila, which has Carrefour as anchor tenant.

“Our 2009 expansion plan targets the opening of 3 new stores, in Pitesti (the second store), Miercurea Ciuc and Turda. These plans will materialise only if the market evolution and the economic conditions in general show signs of improvement. Otherwise, expansion plans will be frozen until the market recovers,” said Claudia Rusu, marketing manager of the PIC chain, controlled by Pitesti businessmen Cornel and Ilie Penescu.