Real resumes expansion plans: 2 or 3 stores per year

Real hypermarket network, owned by Germany’s Metro group, plans to add 2-3 stores per year in Romania on the medium term, namely in the next three to five years, after the retailer opened just one store in 2010, the company’s most prudent year since entering the market.

“We’ll take our expansion plan further on the medium term, by opening 2-3 stores per year, depending on emerging opportunities,” stated Michel Lamoot, general manager of Real Hypermarket Romania.
The retailer, active for four years on the domestic market, now operates 25 stores and last year reported sales worth 671m euros (VAT not included). The company’s representatives put the company’s investments in Romania at 500m euros.
Domestically, the German operator has not stepped into the black, yet reporting losses of 58m euros in 2009, the biggest in food retail, according to Trade Registry data.
On the hypermarket segment, Real is the third network announcing expansion plans on the medium term, after Auchan and Cora.