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Lidl secures plot for supermarket in Pleven

Wednesday, Feb 25, 2009

German discount chain Lidl will begin construction on an outlet in the northern Bulgarian town of Pleven in spring after purchasing 4540 sq m plot in the Pleven borough of Storgozia for 1.5 million leva, Stroitelstvo Gradut weekly reported.

Adding the land to the adjacent plot, already owned by the retailer, would allow Lidl to build a large store and a parking lot spreading over one hectare.

Lidl owns another plot in the town, where it plans to build the second outlet, next to a Tehnopolis store.

Lidl Bulgaria is the local subsidiary of the Lidl discount chain, which claims to operate more than 8000 stores in 24 countries. Lidl itself is a unit of the same holding company that owns retailer Kaufland, which focuses on large hypermarkets. Kaufland is already on the Bulgarian market, where it operates 19 stores.

"We regard Pleven as a town with very high potential, as there aren't many towns quite like that in Bulgaria," Lidl reciever Kamen Koumanov during the signing ceremony with
Pleven mayor Naiden Zelenogorski.

Despite initial plans to enter Bulgaria at the same time as Kaufland, in 2006, Lidl postponed its expansion and only started work on its first outlet, in the central Bulgarian town of Pazardjik, in 2008.

Once here, though, it plans to grow quickly. "Our investment strategy will not end here. We are planning to build a large logistical centre near Sofia, as well as expand our coverage of northern Bulgaria," Kamenov said, adding that the next targets were Vidin, Rousse, and Veliko Turnovo.

Source: The Sofia Echo