A Proposal for a Standard With Innovation Management System

Adina Catana and Lavinia Delcea
2.3 Influence of supermarket expansion on labor
In order to analyze the influence of entrepreneurship on the employment of the labor force in Romania
and in the North-West Region, we chose to study the expansion of four main large stores, namely
Metro Cash & Carry Romania, Real,- Hypermarket Romania, Carrefour Romania and Billa Romania.
METRO Cash & Carry is part of METRO Group, one of international retail leaders. The company has
a total of approximately 280,000 employees and operates in over 2,100 locations in 33 countries
(METRO Cash & Carry website). The company operates through its sales divisions which operate
independently in the market: Metro Cash & Carry, Real,- hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn, the
market leader in electrics and household electronics in Europe, and Galeria Kaufhof department
stores.
METRO Cash & Carry International, the leading player on the cash & carry international market,
opened its first store in Romania in October 1996, being also the first company which introduced a
local cash & carry sales system, the modern form of wholesale with cash payment when buying and
picking up goods. In later years, thanks to the success of the new system on the Romanian market,
the company expanded its network rapidly, reaching its own 32 stores in Romania, with total sales of
approximately 190,000 square meters. According to Romania's Finance Ministry, in 2010, METRO
Cash & Carry Romania had about 6,132 employees, recording a turnover of 1.25 billion Euros, down
with 8% as compared to 2009.
Real,- Hypermarket is also a sales division of METRO Group. Since the opening of the first store on
the Romanian market in 2006, Real,- has invested over 500 million Euros developing one of the
largest network of hypermarkets in Romania, which currently brings together 25 stores in 18 cities. In
2010, the company recorded a turnover of 780 million Euros, with a total of 7,530 employees. Real,-
Hypermarket plans to continue expansion in 2012 and 2013, with new stores in Bucharest and the
country. Each new store creates 250 jobs, of which 30 are in managerial positions (Real,-
Hypermarket Romania website).
Over the 5 years on the local market, Real,- tried to bring their contribution to local economic
development, supporting local suppliers. Thus, today, Real,- Hypermarket sells about 70,000 food
and non-food products from 1,700 suppliers, of which 90% are from Romania. At the same time,
Real,- is also aimed at local manufacturers whether it be food or non-food (Real,- Hypermarket
Romania website).
In Oradea, one of cities in the North-West Region, Real,- invested about 38 million Euros for the two
hypermarkets that operate here and have created a total of over 500 jobs.
The Carrefour group used its 40 years of activity to become the world's second-largest retailer and the
largest in Europe, operating four main grocery store formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets, hard
discount and convenience stores. According to the information on its website, the group currently has
over 15,500 stores, either company-operated or franchises in three major markets: Europe, Latin
America and Asia. Being present in 34 countries, over 57% of group turnover derives from outside
France, where it was originally founded. The group plans further international growth in the future,
particularly in large national markets such as Turkey, Brazil, China and Indonesia.
Carrefour describes itself as being actively committed to promoting local economic development by
emphasizing local recruitment and management and staff training on the job of its employees, and by
being one of the leading private employers in any country where it operates, like France, Brazil,
Argentina, Colombia, Italy and Greece. The group also prides itself on supporting local suppliers, with
about 90% of the sold products sourced locally, depending on the country.
In Romania, Carrefour operated in 2010 a network of 23 hypermarkets and 34 supermarkets, which
brought it a turnover of around 931 million Euros and a number of 7,123 employees. In Oradea, one
of the cities from the North-West Region, Carrefour created around 500 working places.
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