Romanian DIY retailer withdraws from Republic of Moldova

Romanian Do-It-Yourself retailer Dedeman, which was planning to build a store in Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, will withdraw from Moldova “because of administrative barriers and excessive bureaucracy,” reports local Economica.net. The Romanian company announced its plan to enter the market in Moldova in 2015. The following year the retailer concluded a contract with the former leather factory Piele SA to build a store on a land plot owned by the company. Dedeman was planning to demolish the buildings owned by the leather factory. Most of them were built in the ‘50s-60’s and were in bad shape. The retailer’s intention was to build a shopping center with 460 parking places for customers. The investment was estimated at EUR 20 million and was expected to create 200 jobs. However, in the fall of 2015, the Chisinau City Hall refused to issue the urbanism certificate. Despite new attempts, the project has been blocked by the Chisinau municipality since December 2016, according to Dedeman representatives. Dedeman buys 2.7-hectare plot in Bucharest’s District 5 editor@romania-insider.com