ROMANIA: Ahold Delhaize continues its advance on the local market

Mega Image retailer, part of the Ahold Delhaize Group, has maintained its growth rate, reporting for the second quarter of this year an 11% increase in comparable sales (in stores older than one year), according to the financial report published by the company.

"In the Central and South Eastern Europe region, net sales rose by 2.7% to 1.49 billion euros. Q2's performance is based on the 0.5% increase in comparable sales, as well as the sales of the 120 stores, mostly on the convenience segment. Romania again reported a good quarter, with a comparable 11% increase in sales, similar to the performance reported for 2017 (+ 11.2% organic). The Czech Republic also reported strong growth, but in Greece comparable sales remained on a downward trend", said Ahold Delhaize in the report.

In the second quarter, Mega Image opened 17 stores and, moreover, opened the first stores in Timisoara, reaching 623 stores under the Mega Image, Shop & Go and Gusturi Romanesti (Romanian Tastes) banners.

"In Q2, Ahold Delhaize's business continued to perform well and we were on track to implement the new strategy, building strong local brands and strengthening our leadership position in most markets in both physical and online stores", said Frans Mueller, Ahold Delhaize CEO.

At group level, Ahold Delhaize reported a 0.9% increase at constant exchange rates up to 15.53% for the second quarter, while online sales grew by 23%.