The local retail market was down 12 percent in the first half of the year, according to Nielsen Romania.  The drop was higher – 15 percent - excluding the sales of discount stores. Traditional trade was the most affected, but still covered the bulk of the market in Romania, although hypermarkets and discounters have gained more ground in the meantime.

Food sales in Romanian hypermarkets made 19 percent of the total sales in 2009. Food covered 10 percent of supermarket sales and 7 percent of discounter sales last year. Food sales made more than half of sales in traditional stores, according to data from Nielsen Romania.

Romania-insider.com