Key Points:
Polish retailer Zabka, which has over 10,000 stores in its home market, is officially entering the Romanian food retail market with the opening of its first store under the Froo brand.
This store opening is a "soft launch", meaning that the store is being tested in terms of its processes and operations before it is officially opened to the public.
The first store is located in Bucharest, in the Progresul Square area.
The retailer has set a target of opening three stores in May and a total of 200 stores by the end of 2024.
The group entered the local market in 2023 when it acquired a majority stake in the Romanian distribution company DRIM Daniel Distribuţie.
This agreement was just the first step for Zabka to enter the Romanian market, as it intends to develop both distribution and retail, which is now happening.
The Zabka store network in Poland today has around 10,000 stores. In comparison, all modern trade in Romania - i.e. the stores of nine chains - is only approaching 4,800 units.
Additional Notes:
The company was founded in 1998 by a Polish entrepreneur who focused on aggressive expansion from the early years, reaching 1,700 stores by 2005.
In 2007, the business was taken over by the Penta Investment fund, which in Romania owns the A&D Pharma group, more precisely the Dr. Max pharmacy chain (the former Sensiblu and Punkt network) and the Mediplus pharmaceutical distributor.
Four years later, in 2011, Penta sold the Polish retail business to Mid Europa Partners, which in turn later ceded control.
The year was 2017, and the buyer was another fund - CVC Capital Partners - which the market wrote paid up to 1.5 billion euros for 4,500 stores.
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