Several leading foreign store chains in Bulgaria established Tuesday their Association for Modern Retail, the companies announce.

The founders include Billa, Praktiker, Kaufland, Lidl, HIT, Monsieur Bricolage, Penny Market, and Metro Cash and Carry.

The Association aims at protecting the rights of its members without violating competition and free trade principles. One of the goals is to reduce the gray economy and the black market in order to protect the interests of the State and of consumers. Another one is to provide assistance in the preparation of the tax policies because a stable policy means stability for the State, according to the founders, who also say a possible increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) would not increase revenues and might even bring them down.

All regional managers attended the meeting, except those of Penny Market. The Board has 3 members – the managers of Metro, Billa and Monsieur Bricolage while the CEO of Metro, Emiliyan Abadzhiev, will be the Board's Chair.

“The Association represents companies who are top investors, taxpayers and employers in Bulgaria with annual turnover of EUR 1.5 B,” Abadzhiev said, adding membership is open to all retailers in Bulgaria who have at least 5 000 square meters of store space and an annual turnover of at least BGN 10 M or have at least 300 employees.