Apparel retailer C&A, which manages some 1000 outlets across Europe, is hiring management staff for the launch of operations in Bulgaria, Dnevnik daily reported on March 12, quoting company sources. However, the first local C&A stores are not expected to roll out before 2010, the paper claimed.
C&A is one of the largest clothes retailers in Europe, managing outlets in Latin America and China as well. Set up in The Netherlands in 1841, its biggest trademarks include Clockwise, Westbury and Your Sixth Sense. In Central and Eastern Europe the company has outlets in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Slovenia.
C&A is part of the Swiss Cofra Group, which deals with real estate, financial services and renewable energy sources, as well.
Several major apparel brands, apart from C&A, have already announced plans to enter the Bulgarian market. The first of their outlets are expected to open for business in 2009, when several new shopping malls are scheduled to be delivered.
Rival fast-fashion retailers like Zara and H&M are expected to take out leases in mall properties under development in Sofia and in some of the regional cities. Greek company Marinopoulos recently announced the signing of a franchise agreement for the Bulgarian market with US apparel maker Gap.
