Summary of the Romanian market in 2017

The number of new stores in 2017, which were opened by leading retailers in Romania has decreased by 18% in comparison to 2016. In return, that has affected the turnover growth rate. The only sector, which has experienced growth in 2017, is the sector of fast-moving consumer goods, where ten of the researched retailers have opened up a total of 298 stores compared to 249 in 2016. Naturally, the turnover has increased by 7.8%.

The research enveloped 99 companies, which operate in various fields – FMCG, fashion, electronics and IT, cosmetics, jewelry, restaurants and coffee shops, bookstores etc.

For 2016, the studied companies owned a total of 4534 stores and had a turnover of 12.2 billion euro. The newly opened stores for 2016 alone have been 640 and the turnover saw an increase of 15.6% compared to the previous year.

Accordingly, 524 new stores were opened in 2017 and the turnover increased by 11.3%. Although these numbers are lower than the ones for 2016, the year was positive for the Romanian retail sector nonetheless. Ongoing is the trend of retailers optimizing their business by closing non-profitable stores, opening up stores with potential and taking advantage of the improved market environment, in which the consumers demonstrate an increased appetite for shopping.

The growth rates in the retail sector in Romania are among the highest in Europe, which fills the traders with optimism. The local market attracts more and more the attention of foreign companies from various sectors, which have the desire to start working in Romania. It is considered that their entering into the local market will make the competitiveness in 2018 even more intense.