Rewe subsidiary Bipa takes step to Romania-Diepresse.com
With the start in Romania, Bipa continues his planned growth course beyond Croatia. In addition, the drugstore chain in Austria lowers the prices of around 300 items.
The Austrian Rewe subsidiary Bipa is expanding to Romania. The opening of the first drugstore is planned for the 1st quarter of 2026. Every year, “a double -digit number” of locations is to be added. In the long term, « hundreds of » Romanian branches are conceivable, said Bipa-Co managing director Andreas Persigehl on Wednesday at a press conference in Vienna. Rewe is particularly strongly represented in Romania with 418 Penny markets. Overall, the Rewe Group is one of the few that runs from discounters to drugstores and conventional supermarkets.
A « three-digit million amount » is to be invested in the Romania business of BIPA and Penny, the BIPA-CO managing director Markus Geyer announced at the press appointment. How much of it will be omitted on the drugstore chain does not quantify Geyer. You will first establish yourself in Romania, then a further expansion to other countries is conceivable in the long term, said the BIPA boss. In any case, the growth potential is enormous for the REWE Group. Not only in stationary trade, also in online business, in Austria with a growth of last year of 9.3 percent. Overall, the proportion of virtual trade is still very low, as Geyer emphasizes. Both in Austria and in Croatia, the business with the Quick Commerce is a great success. « Our customers very much appreciate to order and get their goods online, » said Geyer. In both countries, Bipa cooperates with Foodora.
International growth strategy
Bipa was founded in 1980 and operates 566 branches in Austria. The drugstore chain in Croatia has currently been active with 141 shops since 2007. Between 2017 and 2020, Rewe renovated his then deficit drugstore daughter, including branch network lift, range changes and management changes. Bipa has been « very, very stable » for « four, five years », explained Rewe-Austria boss Marcel Haraszti at the press conference. In the previous year, the drugstore chain cracked the sales billion. Between 2021 and 2024, BIPA turnover in Austria rose by 25 percent and 72 percent in Croatia. « The development of the Romanian market is an important step in our international growth strategy, » says Haraszti. The 19 million inhabitant state has great economic potential.
The Bipa’s Romania subsidiary will be headed by Austrian Martin Gaber (56) from June 1st. Gaber was most recently the managing director of the Austria subsidiary of the German Garden and Budget Discounters Thomas Philipps. He used to be a general manager of Marionnaud Austria and for Rewe International in Italy and Slovakia.
Bipa lowers prices in Austria for 300 articles
For the Austria business, BIPA announced the permanent price reduction of over 300 items across the range. The price reduction, which is now valid by an average of ten percent, affects own brands and branded products, for example in the area of personal hygiene, baby food and household. Among other things, the energy costs of the manufacturers have decreased that this price advantage was to be passed on to the customers, it was said from the BIPA management. Price cuts in other articles are to follow in the coming months. Austria recorded record inflation figures in 2022 (+8.6 percent) and 2023 (+7.8 percent), in 2024 the general inflation settled at almost three percent.
Next year will be the thirteest anniversary of changing the domestic trade landscape. In 1996, Billa/Bipa founder Karl Wlaschek sold the domestic supermarket and drugstore chain for 1.1 billion euros to the cooperative REWE Group. Austrian REWE International AG is part of the German Rewe Group, one of the leading European trade and tourism groups. Not only the business in Austria with Billa, Billa Plus (Merkur), Penny, Bipa and ADEG is controlled from the Rewe International’s headquarters in Wiener Neudorf (Lower Austria), but also the international business of the REWE Group. (JUP/APA)
