Billa Bulgaria to invest 61 mln euro in 2024, open 12 new stores

In 2024, the company will modernise 11 stores and open 12 new locations, setting foot in the north-central town of Teteven and the northeastern town of Tutrakan and generating over 250 jobs, Sapokas said at a media breakfast.

Last year, the chain upgraded 14 of its sites and opened 11 new ones, expanding into the towns of Sozopol, Chirpan, Troyan, Silistra and the village of Graf Ignatievo.

Additionally, the retailer will allocate 47.2 million levs out of over 50 million levs in total planned to build its new warehouse near the village of Zagore, in the Stara Zagora region. The facility, which is currently under construction, is set to be operational in the first quarter of 2025, Sapokas said in response to a SeeNews question.

In 2023, Billa Bulgaria booked a 15% annual growth in revenue to 1.42 billion levs and a 5.4% rise in the volume of customers. In the first quarter of 2024, the company's revenue increased by 11.5% year-on-year to 376 million levs, while its customer base added 6.8%.

Last April, the company launched its online sales in Sofia and has already expanded the service to three more cities - Plovdiv, Varna and Pleven, Sapokas added.

The Austria-based retailer entered the Bulgarian market in 2000 and currently operates 159 stores in 50 towns and cities across Bulgaria.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)