Billa Bulgaria has seen significant growth in the first ten months of 2023, achieving a turnover of BGN 1.1 billion (€562 million), representing an increase of 15.8% compared to the same period in 2022.
Announcing the figures during a press conference, CEO of Billa Bulgaria, Vigintas Shapokas, stressed that the growth is even more impressive when considering the expansion of the store network, with a reported growth of 12% when comparing the same number of stores.
To support its continued growth, Billa Bulgaria plans to invest BGN 62 million (€32 million) this year, creating over 250 new jobs.
A significant portion of this investment, BGN 50 million (€26 million), will be allocated to the construction of a new warehouse near the village of Zagore in the Stara Zagora region. The groundbreaking ceremony for the site, scheduled to open in 2025, took place last month.
Shapokas also said that sales prices in Billa Bulgaria stores have increased by 1.6% from October 2022 to October 2023, while delivery prices rose by 6.18% in the same period.
New Openings
Since the start of November, Billa has opened three new stores, investing BGN 9 million (€4.6 million) in total.
These include the 56th in the country’s capital Sofia, a 900 square-metre store in Blagoevgrad, its largest store in Southwest Bulgaria, as well as a Billa Dnes neighborhood store in Silistra.
Part of Germany’s REWE Group, Billa’s network consists of over 150 stores in 47 cities across the country, making it the leader in terms of the number of retail outlets in Bulgaria.
Fast-Charging Network
Billa Bulgaria has teamed up with electric car charging provider Eldrive to build a network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles across Bulgaria.
The partnership will see publicly accessible fast charging stations installed in the parking lots of up to 150 Billa stores throughout the country.
Two Billa stores in Sofia and one in Blagoevgrad already have fast charging stations installed, and one more in Troyan will be installed shortly.
This partnership will make it more convenient for electric car owners to charge their vehicles while shopping.
Eldrive is one of the leading operators of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in Bulgaria and the region, with over 1,000 charging points in Bulgaria, Romania, and Lithuania, of which 600 are in Bulgaria alone.
