Real Hypermarket Romania, the company that operates Real hypermarkets on the domestic market, has invested over 12 million euros to open its second Romanian outlet, in Constanta.

Real, the hypermarket division of the German Metro group, entered the Romanian market by opening an outlet in Timisoara this March, following a 15 million-euro investment. Company officials plan to open five more stores this year.

"This year is the first of the three, during which an expansion programme will be carried out that will entail the opening of five new outlets in similarly important cities in Romania, such as Sibiu, Oradea and Bucharest later this year," stated John Rix, the general manager of the company.

The new hypermarket that opened in Constanta covers 11,600 square metres and has a sales area that is spread over 6,000 square metres.

Real Hypermarket Romania increased its share capital by 20 million euros in mid May, in order to support its expansion on the domestic market. At the same time, the company announced it would hire about 2,000 people by yearend. Company representatives say that for each new store opened, the firm hires approximately 300 people.

Real is the third Metro group division that has entered Romania. Metro Cash & Carry opened its first store in Romania in 1996 and has built the largest network on the domestic market with 23 outlets and a 1.25 billion-euro turnover last year. Metro also brought is DIY store unit, Praktiker, to Romania, in 2003. Meanwhile, Praktiker has come to total 11 stores in Romania, but left Metro, as the Germans sold their stake in the international Praktiker business for about half a billion euros. Real is among the latest international players to have entered the Romanian hypermarket segment. Carrefour was the first to introduce this type of retail in 2001, when it opened such an outlet in the weste