Romanian manager, promoted to lead Lagardère Travel Retail | Progresiv

Marius Vacalau, the manager who has held the role of COO for Lagardère Travel Retail Romania for the last eight years, was promoted to the management of the company, after the French Stefan Picard left to the headquarters of the group in Paris.

The new executive has 12 years of experience in the company. From 2007-2011 he served as Commercial & Marketing Director at the Inmedio chain, after having worked for British  American Tobacco cigarette manufacturer for two years. Previously, he worked for five years at Metro Cash & Carry Romania.

Lagardère Travel Retail is a French company active for over 20 years on the Romanian market, whose name is mainly linked to the flagship banner in the local local trade, Inmedio. In 2011, the group launched in Romania the 1 Minute chain, a concept of retail convenience that focuses on packaged and food-to-go. In recent years, this has rapidly expanded mainly in the office buildings in Bucharest, reaching several tens of units. In addition, the company also launched the retail brand HUB Convenience, under which small shops were opened in the subway stations.

Currently, the retailer operates locally more than 250 stores under the brands Inmedio, 1 Minutes and HUB Convenience, as well as the So! Coffee shops.

Lagardère Travel Retail Romania reported for 2018 a turnover of 652.5 million lei (140 million euros) and a net profit of almost 32 million lei (6.9 million euros), according to data from the Ministry of Finance.