Carrefour, Metro bet on proximity stores in Romania

French retailer Carrefour reached 120 stores nationwide in Romania after opening twelve new Express stores in the first half of 2022. Meanwhile, Metro’s La doi Pași chain is 1,800 stores strong, mainly in rural and suburban areas, but with plans to expand the cities as well.

Carrefour’s new dozen locations are part of its shift toward proximity stores. There are 100 integrated and 20 franchised stores right now. The French retailer boasts of bringing over 3,500 products near homes in its neighborhood shops, located near office centers and crowded areas. Customers can find BIO, dietary, bakery, or private label products in Carrefour Express stores.

“The desire of our customers to have easy access to their favorite products in a single shopping session, close to their own homes, gives us confidence in continuing the expansion of our proximity network,” said Vincent Rochefort, Proximity Director at Carrefour Romania. “Thus, we want to bring fresh products from local farmers, the BIO range, and our brands, such as Drag de România or regional wines from the Deschidem Vinul Românesc program, even closer to customers.”

Over a hundred people will work at Carrefour’s new Express stores in Sibiu, Prejmer (Brașov), Brașov, Deva, Huși, Ploiești and Bucharest. The chain is already one of Romania’s largest employers.

Despite focusing on the expansion of proximity stores in cities with over 10,000 inhabitants, Carrefour also seeks to boost its online delivery service. The Express network is actually meant to support the fast, 30-minute delivery of Carrefour products through Bringo, bringing proximity to the online.

Metro Romania is also aiming to boost its proximity presence through its La doi Pași stores.

“Proximity is gaining ground. I believe many consumers go to the stores close to their home or workplace,” said Adrian Ariciu, Metro Romania CEO, cited by Profit.ro. “Even if online retail has grown, proximity has a future. That’s why we think it’s a winning bet. There’s still room on the market,” he added.

There are 1,800 La doi Pași stores nationally, mostly in the underserviced rural or suburban areas. Ariciu says that there is still room for proximity, convenience stores in cities, despite the increased competition.

“We reconfirm the target of 2,000 stores that will be reached during the next year,” said the Metro CEO. “Consumers will increasingly focus on utility and the purchase experience.”