French retailer Cora allots EUR 140 million for expansion in Romania

French retailer Cora, which has recently opened a EUR 22 million hypermarket in Drobeta Turnu Severin, in Romania, plans to invest EUR 140 million by 2011. During the following year, Cora plans to build its first mall in Romania, located in the centre of Constanta. Beside this investment of almost EUR 100 million, Cora will expand to Brasov, where the French company wants to open a store and several residential buildings in 2012. According to Philippe Lejeune, general director of Cora Romania, the company invests in Romania more than in other Eastern European countries. Also present in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, the company entered the Romanian market eight years ago. The manager of the store says the company’s turnover in 2010 registered a 3 percent rise compared with 2009, whereas the profitability diminished with 10 percent. The profit of the company amounted to EUR 330 million euros at the end of 2009. In 2011, Phlilippe Lejeune expects a similar scenario regarding the profitability. The Drobeta Turnu Severin shopping centre is made of a Cora hypermarket of 7,200 sqm and a 4,000 square metres commercial gallery. With 320 employees, the new store is the sixth Cora hypermarket in Romania. Cora operates three types of stores in Romania: hypermarkets of 10,000 sqm (Bucharest), of 7-8,000 sqm (Drobeta Turnu Severin) or of 5,000 sqm (Baia Mare). Ina Danila, ina.danila@romania-insider.com