November 12 (SeeNews) - The company managing the CBA supermarkets in three Bulgarian cities, CBA Asset Management, plans to invest some 4.5 million levs ($3.4 million/2.3 million euro) in expanding its retail chain and opening a new logistics centre, a senior company official said on Monday.
The company plans to open two supermarkets - one in the capital Sofia and one in the northern city of Veliko Tarnovo - investing 1.5 million levs in each, CBA Asset Management executive officer Ivaylo Marinov told SeeNews.
The two new supermarkets will open in early 2008. With them the company's retail network will include 11 supermarkets, covering a total area of 7,752 square metres compared to 4,505 square metres at present. The company's existing stores are located in Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, on the Danube river, and in Gabrovo, also in the north.
Marinov also said that the company's development plan includes further expansion in north central Bulgaria through the opening of convenience stores.
"We also plan entry in other big cities - like Plovdiv for example," Marinov said and added that this would happen in a later stage. "We plan to open around 3,500 square metres of retail space a year."
CBA is also considering expansion abroad as the first target is the market of neighbouring Romania, which joined the European Union together with Bulgaria in January. "This will be possible in the medium or long-term," Marinov said.
The company, which has a logistics centre in the Danube river port city of Ruse, built on a total area of 2,000 square metres, plans to invest another 1.5 million levs in enlarging the logistics centre and buying a new one.
"We plan to expand [the existing logistics centre] as well as to buy a logistics centre in Veliko Tarnovo by the end of the year or at the beginning of next year," Marinov said.
The investments will be funded with proceeds of the company's initial public offering, due to be launched on Wednesday. It will seek a minimum 7.8 million levs ($5.4 million/4.0 million euro) offering 3.9 million new shares at a minimum issue price of 2.0 levs each.
CBA (www.cba.bg), in which Hungarian CBA Commercial holds a minority stake, is a league of co-branded independently-owned stores. In Bulgaria, the chain includes some 160 stores and their number is planned to rise to 400 by the end of 2009.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)