Bulgarian operator plans two new Debenhams stores a year in Romania

The Bulgarian franchisor which has brought back the Debenhams fashion retail brand to Romania aims at opening two stores a year in the next five years, according to Wall-Street.ro. The company, called MRPI, expects even higher sales in Romania from the local Debenhams stores, than in Bulgaria, according to Chris Harper, sales director with the firm, quoted by Wall-Street.ro. Debenhams re-entered the Romanian market about a month ago by opening a three-storey shop in Bucuresti Mall, on the premises of its former shop. It invested some EUR 1 million in this store. It now plans to open a similar one in Plaza Romania mall. When counting on bigger sales in Romania than in Bulgaria, MRPI bets on the already high brand notoriety in Romania, where the brand was already active several years ago, but closed shop as its then franchisor was in financial trouble. The Bulgarian company now hopes to have a million store visitors in the Debenhams shop in Bucuresti Mall in the first year after opening. Editor@romania-insider.com