Tjeerd Jegen, the Dutchman who was brought in February by the Metro group network to head Real Romania hypermarket, says he was surprised to see the high prices of consumer goods, and the low market share held by modern retailers.

Tjeerd Jegen, 36, came to the helm of Real Hypermarket Romania primarily attracted by the growth potential of the Romanian market. "On a market such as the Netherlands, which has already reached maturity, retailers are very happy with a 3% annual increase. When you talk about 30% sales increases on the Romanian market, it is a completely different challenge," says Jegen.

The manager has 12 years of experience in retail in Europe and the United States, 4 of which were spent in the Czech Republic, and another 2 years in Poland, a country that Romania is frequently compared to due to the size of its market and similar consumption habits.

"I took over as financial manager at Ahold in Poland in 2002, at a time when retailers were expanding aggressively on the market. All big retailers, with the exception of Wal-Mart were on the Polish market at the time, and were expanding at a rapid pace. I remember a time, during the winter holidays, when we were in a wild competition to cut prices on traditional products from each day to the next," says Jegen.

He has not been confronted with the same situation on the Romanian market, where the price policy is the basic element of the international players' strategy, but not to the point of differentiating the main players from the more traditional stores.

"The services, the cleanliness, the variety of products on offer, the strategies to ensure customer loyalty are very important as well," adds the manager.

Jegen does not think the Romanian market will reach the highly competitive prices one can find in Poland, anytime soon.

Tjeerd Jegen, the Dutchman who was brou