The bold plans announced by Kaufland, the hypermarket division of German group Schwartz, are beginning to take shape. The German group, which is currently building a number of stores in Bucharest and around the country, has already contributed 48.4 million euros to the share capital of the company it established in Romania, Kaufland Romania, according to data from the National Trade Registry Office.
"The money will be used for the expansion and construction of stores," Gunther Grieb, Kaufland Romania's chief executive, told Ziarul Financiar.
The 48 million euros would allow the German group to open an initial 5 or 6 stores, with the opening of each store costing 8 to 10 million euros, company representatives say.
The plans announced by Kaufland for the Romanian market will entail nearly half a billion euros in investments over the next five years: the German group plans to open 50 stores in five years, 10 stores each year.
This rapid expansion is the same as the strategy the group has pursued on other Central and Eastern European markets, such as the Czech Republic and Poland.
According to Kaufland, the planned expansion on the Romanian and Bulgarian markets will benefit from the funds obtained some time ago from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The first Kaufland in Romania will open in Bucharest this summer on the site of the former Stela soap factory close to Bucur-Obor, an area already serviced by other international companies such as the XXL Mega Discount! discounter, a Gima supermarket and two hypermarkets: Carrefour and Cora.
Later Kauflands will also be located inside cities, officials from the German group say. Despite being a hypermarket (the largest retail format), its size of up to 5,000 sqm as well as its lack of shopping galleries allows the German group to implant itself inside inhabited areas due to its not requiring a surface area of more than 10,000-15,000 sqm.
ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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