Kaufland Romania has inaugurated its first store in Chitila, Ilfov County, continuing its expansion strategy in the Bucharest metropolitan area, where competition among major food retail chains remains intense. The new unit, located on Șoseaua Banatului, will create approximately 70 jobs and strengthens the company’s presence in towns surrounding the capital.

The store has a total area of 6,500 sqm, nearly half of which is dedicated to sales space. The investment also includes energy-efficiency components, such as photovoltaic panels installed on more than 1,200 sqm, at a time when retailers are seeking to reduce operational costs and energy consumption in commercial units.

From a commercial perspective, the format follows the network’s standard model: an extended food area, grill, bakery, self-checkout counters, and digital services such as K-Scan. The focus on automation and fast checkout processing reflects retailers’ broader trend toward reducing waiting times and shifting part of store operations to self-service solutions.

The project also includes a retail gallery with complementary tenants, ranging from pharmacies and fashion retailers to courier services and self-service laundry facilities, highlighting how hypermarkets are increasingly evolving into proximity commercial centers.

The retailer also integrates separate collection and recycling infrastructure, including reverse vending machines for returnable packaging and reward systems for recycling cosmetic and cleaning product containers.

The expansion in Chitila comes at a time when major retail chains continue investing in Bucharest’s satellite towns, betting on population growth and the accelerated residential development of Ilfov County.