Local retailer Mega Image, part of the Dutch-Belgian group Ahold Delhaize, will open its first stores in Cluj-Napoca, north-west of Romania, next year.

It will be the ninth location for the retailer after Bucharest and the Ilfov, Brasov, Prahova, Constanta, Giurgiu, Dambovita, and Ialomita counties.

The Mega Image network is mostly concentrated in Bucharest and Ilfov. About 90% of its total 484 stores are located here. The retailer has always claimed that Bucharest represents its main market.

The company has also announced that it will develop its own online platform, taking advantage of the Ahold Delhaize expertize, said Vassilis Stavrou, Mega Image general director.

The retailer is currently selling its products online via a collaboration with Romania's largest online retailer eMag. Stavrou said that building its own online platform will not mean the termination of the collaboration with eMag.

editor@romania-insider.com