Carrefour challenges Mega Image’s position on Bucharest market

Carrefour will soon branch out into supermarkets in Bucharest by taking over the space of some convenience stores operated by local retailers, sources on the market say. One of the first Carrefour Market stores to open in Bucharest would be located in the Orizont area in Drumul Taberei, the sources added.
The retailer’s representatives had not verified the information by edition’s close.
The French company, which is the biggest hypermarket operator locally, is taking on a market put at 400-600 million euros, that is about 20% of the food retail in Bucharest, where only Mega Image has expanded aggressively thus far, relying mainly on acquisitions. The network held by Belgium’s Delhaize group has almost 50 million operational stores in Bucharest and a share put at 25% of its respective segment, which makes it the biggest supermarket chain in the capital city. “Insolvent stores are takeover targets for the major supermarket chains seeking to expand in Bucharest,” commented Georgiana Andrei, head of Colliers Romania’s retail division.
Throughout the country, insolvent chains such as SPAR, Trident and Pic have been looking for buyers for some of their stores.