Furthermore, company officials say the current economic environment provides development opportunities. “We are somewhat advantaged by the international situation because we are undergoing a development process and financial demands of mall developers has started to decrease, which could mean that we might even open more units than initially scheduled,” company representatives said.
Trident plans to open five stores in 2009, of which two are to be opened in the first quarter in the cities of central Romanian city of Sibiu and and in northeastern Piatra Neamt. The remaining three units are to be launched in the fourth quarter.
The projects will be financed with both the company’s own funds and a partnership with lender MKB Romexterra Bank.
The network founded in 2004 currently includes three hypermarkets and two supermarkets in the Transylvanian region. For this year, the company foresees €60-63 million in turnover.
