Tengelmann Sells Plus Discount Stores in Bulgaria, Romania to Lidl

German retailer Tengelmann has confirmed it is in talks to sell its discount retail chains in Romania and Bulgaria to its rival Lidl, which is part of Germany's Schwarz retail group, according to reports.

The news comes on the heels of reports that Lidl has indicated interest in acquiring the Bulgarian business of its German competitor Plus retail chain.

Tengelman, the parent company of Plus, owns 94 and 16 stores in Romania and Bulgaria respectively.

Last year Lidl announced its intention to open 50 nearly new stores in Romania, in early in 2010. This will allow the company to become a leader in the Romanian discount market within a few months, with a total number of stores more than 150.

Lidl plans to launch its business in Bulgaria in spring 2010.

In 2007 and 2008 Plus sold its business in most European countries. For the last several years the chain has been active in Austria, Romania and Bulgaria, with divisions in those countries in May 2008 united under the name of Plus Eastern Europe.

According to realtors the economic crisis in the past year has proved fertile for the discount retailers stepping on Bulgarian soil in recent months and the country will see their boom in 2010.

Three food discount chains are currently operating in Bulgaria; Kaufland, Penny Market and Plus.

Kaufland is a part of the Swartz Group which also owns Lidl. It is a soft discounter that entered the Bulgarian market in 2006 in Plovdiv. Now it is strongly positioned on the market with more than 26 hypermarkets.

Penny Market (Rewe Group) is another German soft discounter with an aggressive growth strategy for Bulgaria.

• 1