LIDL gets EBRD loan to launch network in Romania

German discount retail giant LIDL & Schwarz, whose business stands at about 55 billion euros, got the approval of the EBRD board for a 200 million-euro loan to finance the launch of the LIDL hard discount store chain in Romania, among others, scheduled for 2011.
These resources will cover half of the group’s investments in the first LIDL openings in Romania and Bulgaria and in the development of the discount hypermarket chain Kaufland on the markets of Poland and Bulgaria. Contacted by ZF, the EBRD representatives did not provide any details about the amount allocated to the LIDL Romania project by the time the story was ready for print. The network is already building the first stores on the domestic market, and owns more than 20 or 30 plots in Romania, according to market data. LIDL will officially launch in Romaina by opening more than 10 stores at once, the model the operator uses on every new market it enters.