ROMANIA: 4 years after rebranding it, Rewe gives up XXL Mega Discount | Progresiv
Rewe Romania announces it will give up the XXL Mega Discount retail banner under which it currently operates 8 stores. Two of these units will be sold to competitors, and the rest will be transformed into Penny Market stores. 
The German company's decision comes less than four years after the rebranding of the chain, which involved investments in the modernization of sale area, as well as two years after the last inauguration.
The retailer’s representatives mentioned three main reasons for this change in strategy: icreasing of Penny Market’s brand visibility, increasing the company’s efficiency and supporting the latest consumer trends: larger stores and decrease of the difference between the discounter concept and that of supermarket".
An XXL Mega Discount store has an area of between 1000 - 1400 square meters, about two times higher than the average size of the Penny Market units. Company representatives speak of a new, larger Penny Market format.
"As part of the rebranding, all XXL Mega Discount stores will be temporarily closed on December 31, 2016. The store in Brasov will be remodeled in two days (1 to 2 January 2017) and will reopen on January 3, 2017 and the other five stores will be remodeled in early 2017. XXL stores in Sibiu and Galati will be closed and sold to the competition", company officials said.
The approximately 500 employees of the chain will be able to transfer within Penny Market, in any of the 45 stores that the company will open or reopen by the end of 2017 - according to data from by the retailer.
In September, Rewe Romania continued the market expansion with the new Penny Market format, opening its 180th store in Magurele (Ilfov County). It has an area of about 1,600 square meters.
Last year, Rewe Romania reported a turnover of 2.65 billion lei and a net profit of 12.86 million lei, with 3472 employees. Sales and profit were down about 13% compared to 2014.
