Hypermarkets have 1,400 new jobs in Bucharest

Cora, Real and Selgros networks are recruiting around 1,400 people for the openings in the last three commercial projects announced for this year in the capital city, namely Sun Plaza, Cotroceni Park and the retail park on Valea Cascadelor.

For each position of commercial worker, retailers on average receive 5-6 applications, while for the jobs of food sector specialists, which were hard to fill in the previous years as a result of the shortage of available skilled personnel, even as many as 140 persons are fighting, most of them former restaurant or hotel employees, according to market data.

Whereas the unemployment rate in Bucharest has stayed below 2%, the lowest of all major cities in the country, retailers are finding employees for store openings more easily this year as competition on the labour market is weaker.

“Employees made redundant by HoReCa companies, harder hit by shrinking consumption, are now shifting to food retail despite the lower wages offered,” explains Iuliana Badea, sales manager with Lugera & Makler recruitment firm.

The biggest number of jobs in food retail will be created in autumn by Cora, in Sun Plaza mall of Berceni, with the network announcing on average 800 positions for each new hypermarket. Of these, around 90 are managerial positions.

In its turn, Real Hypermarket is hiring 250-300 people for the store in Cotroceni Park, and the Selgros Cash & Carry store in Valea Cascadelor will open in September with around 300 employees.

“Given that modern retail is still growing, even though not all announced projects will be finalised this year, the large store networks can be said to be the biggest employers in Bucharest and nationwide,” Iuliana Badea states.

After having pumped almost 1bn euros in network development in the past two years, hypermarket operators are in 2009 opening just 16 stores entailing cumulated investments worth 212-248m euros, according to centralised by ZF.