Retailer Mega Image sees fivefold increase in Romanian sales in seven years on rapid expansion

Mega Image, the retail chain with the most aggressive expansion in Romania in recent years, reached sales of EUR 530 million in 2013, up by one third compared to 2012. Since 2007, the company’s turnover has grown fivefold, from EUR 100 million, as the company opened more than 270 new shops during this period, to almost 300 units. Mega Image’s expansion is best seen in Bucharest, where one can find a Mega Image supermarket or a smaller Shop&Go proximity shop at almost any street corner. Unlike other retail groups, which have extended their networks all throughout Romania, Mega Image is currently present only in the region around the capital city Bucharest, and in the neighboring counties, such as Prahova, Dambovita, Arges, Brasov and Giurgiu. Mega Image also has some shops in Constanta. The growth in sales helped the company increase its net profit by 18 percent in 2013, to EUR 12.5 million. The company has more than 6,100 employees in Romania, more than four times what it had in 2007. Mega Image is part of Belgian group Delhaize, which had some EUR 21.1 billion in revenues last year. This means that operations in Romania account for 2.5 percent of the total group turnover. Delhaize is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Euronext Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of EUR 5.2 billion. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com