Cora adds fourth hypermarket in Bucharest with EUR 47 mln

Retailer Cora Romania recently opened its fourth hypermarket in Bucharest on Soseaua Alexandriei, in the South West region of the city. The retailer invested some EUR 47 million in this new store, which covers 53,000 sqm. The hypermarket received the green building certification BREEAM. The compound includes a hypermarket on some 9,000 sqm, a 5,000 sqm shopping galleria with 40 shops, 980 parking places and some 4,000 sqm of green areas. The shopping galleria was 80 percent leased at opening, and hosts retailers such as Altex, Takko, Leonardo. The compound was built on the premises of a former vehicle depot. The retailer expects the new hypermarket to generate sales of EUR 80 million a year, according to Philippe Lejeune, general manager of Romania Hypermarchee, the company which owns Cora Romania, quoted by Ziarul Financiar. The opening came two weeks after Cora opened another hypermarket in Bacau, bringing its number of stores in Romania to 10. Four of them are in Bucharest, and the other six in Cluj Napoca, Baia Mare, Arad, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Constanța and Bacau. Cora plans to open two more hypermarkets in 2013, in Constanta and Slobozia, and two more in 2014, in Brasov and Ploiesti. On the long term, it hopes to open up to 20 stores within five to eight years. Cora is owned by Belgian group Louis Delhaize. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Cora)