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First hypermarket opened its gates in Timisoara cbi:///cms/158295

Real SB-Warenhaus GmbH opened its first Romanian hypermarket in the city of Timisoara. The METRO Group is now represented with two sales divisions in Romania. As early as ten years ago Metro Cash & Carry opened the country’s first self-service wholesale store and is now market leader in its industry sector in Romania. cbi:///cms/158297

"The market entry of Real in Romania represents another important step in the selective international expansion of this sales division. We see great potential for our hypermarket concept in this country", said Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber, CEO of METRO Group, on the occasion of the opening ceremony in Timisoara. "The extremely successful expansion of Metro Cash & Carry illustrates the opportunities offered by this up-and-coming country". cbi:///cms/158298

With the market entry of Real in Romania the METRO Group is advancing yet another step in its consistent expansion strategy in Eastern Europe. Its first moves in the region already date back to 1994 and the group is now represented with its sales divisions in nearly all Eastern European countries. METRO Group is the largest retailing company in Eastern Europe. Romania is the fifth country where Real is active following Germany, Russia, Poland and Turkey. cbi:///cms/158299

The preparations for the market entry into Romania had started only one year ago. With the support of Metro Cash & Carry, who is already successfully operating 23 stores in the country, the road was cleared very fast and successfully. "This is where our group’s great potential for jointly tapping new markets shows", said Dr. Körber. "We will continue to utilize this potential also in the future for a fast and sustained growth abroad". cbi:///cms/158304

At present additional Real hypermarkets are already under construction in Romania, among others also in Bucharest. For the next years a continuous extension of the outlet network in this country is planned. cbi:///cms/158305

Like in the other countries where it is active, Real focuses its assortment on a broad offer of food and non-food products to satisfy the daily needs of its customers. The assortment of the Timisoara hypermarket with a selling space of around 7,500 m² comprises 30,000 articles with a mix of local products and international brands. cbi:///cms/158306

METRO Group is one of the most important international retailing companies. In 2005 the group reached sales of € 55.7 billion according to preliminary figures. The company has a headcount of about 250,000 employees and operates more than 2,100 outlets in 30 countries. The performance of the METRO Group is based on the strength of its sales brands which operate independently in the market: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry - world market leader in cash & carry wholesale, Real hypermarkets and Extra supermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn - market leader in consumer electronics centers in Europe - and Galeria Kaufhof department stores. cbi:///cms/158300