French retailer Auchan has chosen a smaller format for its future store Iasi, pursuing an area half the size of its usual store formats so far. Auchan will open a 5,000 sqm store in mixed project Palas Iasi in the second half of next year. This store will be focused on providing food products, with 80 percent of the offer covering this segment, said Patrick Espasa, general manager of Auchan Romania (in picture).

Auchan plans to add stores in other cities as well in the following three years – in Constanta, Iasi, Brasov, Craiova and another unit in Bucharest, where it already runs two stores. The investment forecast for this period is of EUR 150 million, which will fuel the creation of 3,500 new jobs.

The retailer has seen the average basket value go down by around 5 percent from July this year, but the number of visitors has increased, Espasa has said. The average budget for a purchase in Auchan used to be of RON 50 before the changes which affected the retail segment this year – such as the VAT hike- but it has come down to around RON 40. The budget covers the purchase of around 20 items from Auchan stores.

Auchan runs seven stores in Romania, with areas between 8,500 and 16,000 sqm each and plans to reach 12 stores by 2012.

Corina Saceanu (corina@romania-insider.com)