Most of the international retailers have entered the Romanian market via Bucharest. Now that things have started to calm down in the Capital, as it became quite full of stores, the first commercial agglomeration in the provinces is dawning in Brasov.

Those driving from Bucharest to Brasov can see extensive construction works in progress on both sides of the road. The showrooms of some of the most important car brands in Romania, furniture stores, cash & carry stores, hypermarkets, bricolage stores, fast-food restaurants, gas stations, all of them are standing side by side and are currently in various stages of completion.

The explanation for this is simple, as the stores by the city entrance equally target the well over 300,000 inhabitants of Brasov and the tourists in Poiana Brasov or in the towns on the Prahova Valley, located only half an hour drive away.

"We've had a store running in this area for four years now. We wanted to open a store in Brasov and took it up with the people at the City Hall, who told us the entrance to Brasov coming from Bucharest would be wholly dedicated to services. This is when we made the decision to invest. Other companies have opened businesses in this area in the meantime, and the price of the land has risen," says Dan Viorel Sucu, chairman of furniture producer and retailer Mobexpert.

The first "foreigner" to have set foot in the area was German Rewe Group, which, unlike its competitor, Metro, yet another German group, chose Brasov to enter Romania.

"When we set the location for the complex in Brasov, we had no certain data, but thought the area in question would develop into a service and retail zone, because it showed a lot of promise in this regard back then," says Pia Krauss, Selgros Cash & Carry SRL marketing manager. She explained that the choice to base t