New Yorker to open 7 stores by 2008

New Yorker, one of the largest German clothing retailers, will open three stores on the Romanian market this year, in Cluj Napoca, Sibiu and Bucharest, and plans to continue its expansion in 2008 with four more Romanian stores.
“The stores will be located predominantly in commercial areas with a high flow of customers, and malls are our prime targets. The first store (in Cluj) will take up over 1,250 square metres,” New Yorker representatives told ZF. In total, for the seven stores scheduled to open in Romania, New Yorker will hire over 250 people. “Each store will have between 20 and 60 employees, depending on its size. At present, New Yorker stores employ over 10,600 people,” stated company representatives.
The wide range of clothing items, as well as accessories and underwear, is aimed at customers aged between 14 and 35. “Our Romanian stores will stock all New Yorker brands, which is the case for all our stores in 19 European countries, while products are sold at affordable prices. We have high expectations for the Romanian market, given the huge potential of the clothing sector,” explained representatives of the German retailer.
The company holds an over 550-store network throughout most countries in Europe, and intends to expand its network by another 120 stores this year.
The majority of stores are in Germany (285), followed by Austria (69), Poland and Spain (31 each) and the Czech Republic (25). New Yorker is also present under a franchise agreement in Russia and the Middle East with 18 stores. Romania is not the only country to become the target for the German retailer’s expansion plans.
In February, the company entered the Swedish market with a new store, and in August opened a new store in Serbia.
This year, Romania has been the target of several international retailers’ expansion plans such as Hervis Sports (an Austrian sports equipment company and member of the SPAR group), and the German clothing retailer Takko, which plans to increase its presence with 100 new stores in Romania over the next three years.