Easter sales peak stays the same as last year for hypermarkets

Easter holidays brought hypermarkets sales stabilisation, after three months during which retail declined further. Real and Kaufland networks, two of the three biggest hypermarket operators on the market, this year posted Easter sales similar to the 2009 level in terms of value, according to the data provided by the companies. “Sales made during March 29-April 3 period rose by over 2% compared with last year’s Holy Week (April 13-18, 2009), according to our expectations,” stated the representatives of Kaufland Romania, a company operating 49 discounter hypermarkets. In their turn, Real representatives specified Easter sales in the network’s stores were close to the level registered last year in the week before the Easter holidays. The company operates 24 hypermarkets and last year saw sales in RON rise by 20% from 2008 as it added four new locations. Turnover in food, drink and tobacco retail fell by almost 10% in the first two months of this year from a year ago, according to the data the National Statistics Institute (INS) published yesterday. The decline is twice as big as the one INS reported for 2009 compared with 2008 (4%), in the same sector.