VILNIUS - VP market, the operator of the largest Baltic retail chain, has said it would open 200 retail outlets in major Bulgarian cities, the local daily Trud reported.
Gintaras Mikulskas, VP Market board member in charge of Bulgaria, said that the stores should be opened over a five-year period.
"We will soon open three stores of the Saulute-type in the capital city Sofia and then continue to examine the market. We are not yet in the position to announce the number of stores opening. However, the expansion might be curbed by local legislative framework," he said.
According to the daily, the first stores in Sofia would be opened in May. Trade centers, 50 of which will be located in the Bulgarian capital, will cover an area of 600 square meters to 1,600 square meters, the daily reported. The first stores could operate under the brand name of T-Market, although the final word on this is pending, Mikulskas noted.
Early in 2005 Ignas Staskevicius, VP Market chairman, said that the retailer would pursue active expansion in Eastern Europe, and had a particular eye on Bulgaria. The company has already opened five retail outlets in Romania.
VP market reported sales of 4.16 billion litas (1.2 billion euros) for 2004, a rise of 15.9 percent from the year-earlier figure of 3.59 billion litas. In 2005 sales should expand by 15 percent.
"Company business was successful last year and we hit all our targets, although the results might have been better. In terms of national currencies, sales in Lithuania rose by 9.8 percent and in Latvia by 38.6 percent, while in Estonia our sales surged 5.5 times," said Staskevicius.
The retailer is projecting a 15 percent rise in sales for 2005, with investment estimated to reach 300 million litas.
In 2004, VP Market opened its first non-food trade center, Ermitazas, in Vilnius. In Latvia, it changed the brand of T-Market discount stores to Saulite, while in Estonia the company's chain jumped from one outlet to 13.
The chain operates a network of some 300 retail outlets in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Romania.
New competition in the Bulgarian market will include major foreign retailers such as Germany's Metro Cash & Carry and HIT, Austria's Billa and Turkey's Ramstore, which have already set foot in the country of eight million people.
Local supermarket chains Fantastiko, Oazis and Piccadili have also claimed good market positions.
Following VP market's lead, German supermarket chain Lidl, France's Carrefour and Slovenia's Mercator are eyeing a possible entry into the market.
