Romanian retailer Profi adjusts expansion plans to higher financing cost

Romanian retailer Profi, controlled by investment fund Mid Europa Partners, will keep developing its chain at a fast pace of 250 units per year (new openings and modernisation), but it will be more selective when it comes to choosing locations for new units because the financing cost soared five-fold, Profi CEO Gaetan Pacton stated.

Some 250 new units will be thus developed, he said, according to Ziarul Financiar.

In 2022, Profi inaugurated 96 new units and remodelled another 177, closing the year with 1,641 stores.

The company’s CEO believes there is still room for expansion, stating that in Italy or France, the market share of modern trade exceeds 85%, while in Romania, it is just over 70%. He said that Profi could reach over 2,000 stores eventually.

Profi closed last year with a business of RON 11.6 bln (EUR 2.2 bln), 22% more compared to 2021, according to ZF daily calculations based on data communicated by Gaetan Pacton.

Mid Europa Partners is preparing the exit from Profi, six years after the investor paid over EUR 500 mln for it, sources familiar with the deal toldZiarul Financiar last August. The deal may exceed EUR 1 bln, the same sources estimate.

(Photo source: Profi)