Carrefour Romania estimates to reach 1 billion EUR in turnover this year, up by nearly 15% from the 866 million EUR reported for 2007, according to Marketing Manager Andreea Mihai, who attended a conference on "Romania - Investment Hotspot Or Overheated?" organized by The Economist. She pointed out that the 2007 turnover had been 42.2% higher than in the previous year.
Plans for this year include the opening of six hypermarkets in Suceava, Arad, Pitesti, Oradea, Iasi and Bucharest. The overall investment budget for this year is 120 million EUR. Another two hypermarkets will be opened in 2009, in Bucharest and Sibiu. The chain currently counts 11 hypermarkets, of which 5 in Bucharest.
Carrefour Romania recently acquired the supermarket chain Artima (21 stores) and is interested in further acquisitions, if an opportunity arises. Mihai believes the Romanian retail market is worth some 40 billion EUR, of which modern commercial areas account for 39%, as opposed to 90% in Spain, for instance.