Romania's Metro chain makes 260m euros less than in 2008

Romania features in the annual report of the German group Metro, the biggest player in Romanian trade, with over 2 billion euros in turnover, as one of the top three most problematic markets in the region due to the decline of direct investments in the economy and of exports.

Under the circumstances, the Metro chain has seen its local sales down by 17.6% last year against 2008, to 1.23 billion euros, but the German company could continue to see a rise due to the expansion of the Real hypermarket chain.

“The retail trade was unable to separate itself from macroeconomic developments in Eastern Europe. Following double-digit growth rates in 2008, the sector was on a steep downward trend in most countries in 2009. Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia were hit hardest,” the Metro Group report reads.

In the same report, Romania features among the most affected economies in the region by the global economic crisis.

“Although the steep currency devaluation lessened, the region continued to suffer from declining direct investments and persistently depressed export demand. Among the countries in which METRO Group operates, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Ukraine were hit hardest.”