ROMANIA: Auchan took over OK Supermarket chain | Progresiv

French retailer Auchan took over the OK Supermarket store chain, marking the entrance to the supermarket segment. The representatives of Auchan and OK Supermarket did not want to provide further information on this subject.

With this takeover, Auchan enters the local retail market with a new format, so far the company operates only on the hypermarket and proximity stores. Auchan has already started the remodeling, the first commercial unit to be opened being the one on Maria Rosetti Street, no. 7-9. In fact, the representatives of Auchan announced in August that they will open the first supermarket in Romania at the Bucur Obor store in Bucharest.

This is not the first takeover of the French - at the end of 2012 Auchan acquired 20 Real stores, in a transaction of over 250 million.

The OK Supermarket chain is owned by the Farr family and includes three stores, one of which operates in Bucharest and two in Otopeni. The first OK Supermarket was inaugurated in 1997 in the center of Bucharest, and the second was opened in Otopeni in 2010. OK Supermarket stores are operated by Farr Group, which last year reported a turnover of 14,7 million lei, down by 8% compared to 2015. Also, in 2016, the company reported losses of 147,744 lei.

Auchan is one of the main players in the local retail market. The French have 33 hypermarkets, with a sales area of 280,000 square meters and six MyAuchan proximity stores. Last year, the retailer reported sales of 4.89 billion lei, up by 10.16% over the previous year and losses of 23.94 million lei.