French retailer Auchan gets ready to launch its A 2 Pas neighborhood shop chain in Romania and already registered the brand locally, according to Economica.net.

Auchan however says the brand registration was done on an international level, and Auchan Romania focuses on its local hypermarkets.

Auchan had 48 such shops in France, 30 of which in the Parisian area, and all under franchise.

Metro Group also runs neighborhood shops with a similar name in Romania – La doi pasi, which has the same meaning as A 2 pas – within two steps – and is both brands and shops will co-exist, they could use the same acquisition platform, as the two retail group recently signed an agreement to this end.

Auchan runs 31 hypermarkets in Romania and last year had more than EUR 1 billion in sales.

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editor@romania-insider.com