Romania is proving to be a major target for expansion by some of Europe's biggest retailers as the market in Eastern Europe accepts more and more outside entry.

The first half of 2008 saw retail groups in Romania spend approximately €156m on expansion, with the likes of Carrefour, Real Hypermarket and Delhaize all opening new stores, said Newsin.com.

French retailer Carrefour launched 4 new hypermarkets at an estimated cost of €80m, while German discounter Kaufland spent €16m in opening stores in Braila and Slatina.

Real Hypermarket launched its first €22m store and announced plans to open six more before the end of 2008, while Belgian group Delhaize, operating through local operation Mega Image, opened two new supermarkets in Bucharest and acquired 14 La Fourmi stores at €18.6m

Elsewhere, Spar and Billa opened two new stores each, with German discounter Tengelmann opening five new outlets in the first half of 2008 for a combined €7.5m.

The retail market is currently the second largest in central or Eastern Europe, valued at €40bn, with a report by Carrefour representatives estimating that that figure will reach €100bn by 2010.

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