Tengelmann to open 20 discounter stores

German Tengelmann group next spring will open its first 15-20 stores in Romania, in Bucharest and other cities across the country, according to the Romanian Foreign Investment Agency (ARIS).

The stores to be opened on the Romanian market will be discounter units (with low prices and a limited range of products) and will be operated by Plus Discount company under the Plus brand.

The German group will reach 120 stores within the next five years in all the Romanian cities with more than 40,000 inhabitants, with total investments to amount to 200 million euros.

The German group already owns a 138,000sqm land in Ploiesti, where it will set up a logistics centre worth 17 million euros.

Plus stores will have an area of 1,500 square metres, of which 1,200 square metres will be sale space, and will each be located on a 5,000sqm land with 80-100 parking spaces.

Plus strategy relies on the sale of basic products, branded items and products carrying the company’s own brand, at low prices. Plus mainly targets the segment of consumers with medium and low incomes.

At present, there are two discounter store networks on the Romanian market, namely Profi and XXL Mega Discount!.

The former, owned by Louis Delhaize group, includes almost 20 stores, located mainly in the western and central regions of Romania. This year, the company has also opened its first stores in the southern region of the country, in Ploiesti.

XXL Mega Discount!, held by German Rewe group, currently operates four stores.

The two networks last year posted significant turnover growth, exceeding 21 million euros (Profi) and 41 million euros (XXL Mega Discount!).