Orhideea ranks as world's third best Carrefour

Investments in Romania’s Carrefour network this year hit more than 140 million euros. Following the first Carrefour, which opened in the first half of 2001 in the Militari area of Bucharest and which generated sales double the amount forecasted, the store opened last autumn in the Orhideea area of Bucharest has entered the ranks of the best performing Carrefour hypermarkets in the world.

“Orhideea is the world’s third Carrefour hypermarket in terms of the daily number of people visiting it,” says Andreea Mihai, marketing manager with Carrefour Romania.

Mihai declined to specify the exact number of visitors, saying only that the amount of consumer traffic was higher than at other Carrefour stores in Romania.

As to the first hypermarket opened by the French group in Romania in the Militari area, Francois Olivier, general manager of Carrefour Romania, said last year that it attracted an average of 25,000 visitors per day.

“In the last 12 months we opened 3 stores. This has been quite a challenge. Beside the store in Orhideea, the Colentina store has also been welcomed by the population of that area, and Carrefour Brasov, the first hypermarket outside Bucharest, has performed beyond expectations,” added Mihai.

Carrefour Romania currently has four hypermarkets located in and outside Bucharest.

“The first store, that in Militari, involved an investment of 50 million euros, while investments in Carrefour Orhideea were 38 million euros. Carrefour Colentina required investment of 35 million euros, while Carrefour Brasov took 20 million euros. This takes total investments to more than 140 million euros,” said Mihai.