The first Media Galaxy electronics and home appliances store in Transilvania opened yesterday in Cluj-Napoca, following an investment worth more than 700,000 euros. “We expect sales to exceed one million euros each month,” said Dan Ostahie, chairman of the Altex group.
One week before the official launch of Media Galaxy, all three Altex stores in Cluj were closed. “We chose to focus on this particular project and in September, when we reopen the Altex stores, we hope that they will be able to compete with Media Galaxy in terms of services and products,” the Altex official added.
According to Ostahie, the specifics of the Transilvania market are connected to the customers’ habits of shopping abroad. “We are suggesting a balance between Cluj and Budapest,” said Ostahie, underlining the facts that made him take this concept to Cluj. “During my trips, I noticed that there were very many international flights taking off from Cluj airport. I also noticed that the city hosts the headquarters of some of the biggest companies in Romania, and I knew that the Ardeal people are highly cultured and educated. All these were sufficient reasons to initiate an investment in this area,” the chairman of Altex explained.
In the Media Galaxy complex in Cluj, located on the third floor of the Central Store and covering some 2,000 square metres, customers will be able to choose from more than 10,000 items: electronic devices; IT products; computers; mobile and fixed telephones; computer and video games; music & films; and also home appliances and accessories. “The most spectacular sector is IT & multimedia. The market for these products is extremely dynamic. Whereas the white goods category is stagnating, the IT&C market is soaring,” Dan Ostahie added.
The third Media Galaxy store will open this autumn, in the Plaza Romania commercial complex, to be located in Bucharest. “We do have another destination planned for this year and by 2006, we aim to open 14 stores. Our targets initially include Romanian cities of more than 300,000 inhabitants. For 2005, we are also looking at the Bulgarian and Serbian markets,” Dan Ostahie stated. transilvania@zf.ro