Carrefour expands in Winmarkt

Carrefour, the third retail group in Romania after the turnover, has signed a partnership with Winmarkt shopping centers network, based on which Carrefour enters the supermarket format in leased locations in shopping centers in three cities.

Carrefour is expected to open a supermarket on the ground floor of each of the following centers: Winmarkt Somes in Cluj, Winmarkt Magura in Bistrita and Winmarkt Big in Turda. Carrefour Group, the segment leader in Romanian hypermarkets, is active in the supermarket segment from the purchase of Artima, in late 2007, who owned 21 stores in western Romania.

In the year 2008, Carrefour has remodeled all the supermarkets under the name of Carrefour Express. "The new partnership with Winmarkt allows us to continue to expand, increasing the network of Carrefour supermarkets and coverage of the group in Romania," said Andreea Mihai, marketing director of Carrefour Romania.

Referring to this partnership, officials from Winmarkt said: "The agreement signed enrolls in the company's strategy to complement the current mix of tenants, by attracting a supermarket operator to fill the lower levels of their centers, located in city centers."

Winmarkt intends to expand this strategy throughout the network, which currently counts 15 shopping centers in 13 cities, according to Cristian Marius Ionescu, chief marketing officer at Winmarkt.

Winmarkt is owned by Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione (IGD), a company listed on the stock exchange in Milan, one of the most active players on the real estate market in Italy, with a portfolio value of 1.4 billion EURO. Carrefour has achieved in 2008, in Romania, the largest sales growth at group level, from 37.4% to 1.19 billion euros, in comparison with 866 million euros in 2007, amid the expansion of its network of stores.

Carrefour 's Competitors in the hypermarket segment are Auchan, Cora, Real, Pic and Kaufland, and on the supermarket segment - Billa, Mega Image, Interex and Spar.