Profi opens four new stores to reach network of 232 in Romania

Retailer Profi, which is controlled by Polish private equity fund Enterprise Investors, opened two supermarkets in Romania, on Thursday, June 28, in Ploiesti and Iasi. On Friday, the company had two new openings in Constanta and Pitesti, according to a company announcement. These new stores increase its network to 232 units, but the company plans to reach 300 stores in the near future. Only last year it opened 63 new supermarkets and this year it had 20 new openings, including the four recently announced. The stores in Ploiesti and Constanta are in the smaller format of Profi City. The company has 26 such stores in the country. The units in Iasi and Pitesti are standard Profi stores, each on more than 300 sqm of sales area plus warehouse space. Profi is present in 116 localities around Romania and employs more than 5,500 people. Last year, the company posted a turnover of EUR 330 million, 27 percent higher than in 2012, and a net profit of EUR 6.1 million. Its main competitors on the supermarket segment are German discount chain Lidl, Belgian Mega Image, Billa and Penny Market, which are part of German group Rewe, and Carrefour Market. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com