German group Rewe turns former XXL stores in Romania into mini-malls

German group Rewe, which owns the Penny market supermarket chain in Romania, has finalized the leasing process of the former XXL Mega Discount stores in Bucharest, Braila, Targoviste, Buzau, and Ploiesti. These will host retailers such as Decathlon, Deichmann, Hippoland, Jysk, Pepco, Takko, TXM, and Zoocenter. Rewe decided last year to close its 8 XXL Mega Discount large format stores. It sold two of them and converted the other six into Penny Market stores, which occupy some 40% of the retail space of the former XXL stores. The remaining space, totaling some 10,000 sqm, was turned into commercial galleries and leased to other retailers. “Each commercial gallery required an investment of some RON 5 million plus the investments made by each tenant,” said Daniel Gross, general manager of Rewe Romania. The leasing transactions were brokered by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. Penny Market has 220 discount stores in Romania with annual sales of over EUR 600 million. editor@romania-insider.com