What is the best time to open a store? According to Rainer Exel, head of the discount store chain XXL Mega Discount!, this must be before Easter and the winter holidays. After having opened the second store (in Sibiu) last December, Rewe Romania, the owner of XXL Mega Discount!, will launch another two stores this April, in TA„srgoviste and Buzau. “Each store will entail an investment worth some 5 million euros,” said Rainer Exel, general manager of Rewe Romania. Exel deems this expansion and its timing as a strategic move, since Easter is one of the peak consumption periods. ZF