Lithuanian pizza shops come to Romania

Lithuanian company Cilija, which operates a chain of pizza outlets, restaurants and provides catering services, has announced it will enter the Romanian market by the end of this year. “Romania is a very attractive market for us, especially after EU accession; to be involved in providing catering services across the country is a good prospect for the company and a good way to launch and expand our brand. By the end of the year, we will enter the market with the Cili Pica pizza chain, opening the first outlet in City Mall in Bucharest,” Mindaugas Gumauskas, marketing manager of Cilija told ZF. The company, headquartered in Vilnius, plans to expand its network on the local market by 3-4 restaurants a year, targeting the Capital in the first stage of development, and aiming to reach national coverage in the next three years. The Lithuanians have already started the campaign to recruit personnel from the market, having published their first job ads in newspapers. Cilija posted turnover worth 27.9 million euros in 2005, with estimates for the end of 2006 standing at 36.3 million euros.