Retailer Mega Image increased its share capital by EUR 25.2 million this April to finance the opening of new stores and the construction of a new warehouse in Bucharest, according to Mediafax. The retailer presently operates a network of 310 stores under the Mega Image (supermarkets), Shop&Go (proximity stores) and AB Cool Food (only one store which sells exclusively frozen foods retail brands) retail brands.
The retailer will continue to expand in Bucharest where it will also invest in a new distribution center in order to support these plans, said Frans Muller, the general director of the Belgian Delhaize group which owns Mega Image, in March, according to Mediafax. Expansion outside the capital is questioned given the low purchasing power, he added.
Mega Image was one of the players that maintained an aggressive expansion pace over the past years, in 2013 opening 104 new stores.
The previous year it increased its profit 3.5 times to RON 46.7 million (EUR 10.5 million) on the previous year, while its turnover rose by 44 percent to RON 1.75 billion (EUR 394 million), according to public data, after opening 88 new outlets.
Mega Image is owned by the Belgian Delhaize Group. Most of its local stores are located in Bucharest but the retailer also operates stores in Constanta, Ploiesti, Pitesti, Braov, Targoviste and other local cities.
Simona Bazavan