Profi to expand its brand to Bucharest

Later this month, the first Profi supermarket will be opened in Bucharest, following an investment worth €500,000. Profi Rom Food’s General Manager, Caius Crisan, told Business Standard there is no limit currently imposed for the Bucharest expansion. “If we can have 30 stores, all the better,” he said.

For this purpose, the company is looking for commercial space, as long as the rent does not exceed 3 percent of a store’s sales. “We can buy or rent. I am obviously talking about existing commercial space. There is no question of buying land at current prices to build a store,” Crisan said.

He said the company also plans to take over other networks, but added that details are “confidential.”

As for the Albinuta rebranding, the investment will exceed €1 million.

Profi Rom Food currently operates 37 Profi stores and nine Albinuta supermarkets. It plans to open at least 10 further stores this year. The company’s turnover amounted to €140 million, according to company officials.

Its main competitors are Kaufland, Penny Market, Plus Discount and miniMax Discount on the retail segment, and Mega Image, Ethos, G’market, Primavara and La Fourmi on the supermarket segment.