BIPA expands into Romania

The successful development of BIPA in Austria and Croatia in recent years will enable the expansion to Romania in 2026. REWE Group is thus focusing on an international growth strategy and strengthening its market presence in Central and Southeastern Europe. At the same time, BIPA customers in Austria can look forward to a large, permanent price reduction of over 300 items in total.

We are proud to further expand our market presence. This step is proof of our successful development in Austria and Croatia and our commitment to offering products and services at the best price in Romania in the future, says Markus Geyer, Managing Director of BIPA.

BIPA is a billion-dollar company

BIPA broke through the 1 billion sales barrier in Austria and Croatia in 2024. In the past three years alone, BIPA has increased its revenue in Austria by more than 25 percent and in Croatia by more than 72 percent in the comparative period from 2021 to 2024, making BIPA Croatia the most successful unit of REWE Group. At the same time, 10 stores (141 stores in total) were opened in Croatia and 123 new employees (938 employees in total) were hired.

Market expansion as an opportunity

For BIPA, which will celebrate its 45th anniversary in Austria in 2025, the expansion not only means an increase in size, but also an additional presence in the Central and Southeast European market for the entire REWE Group. Marcel Haraszti, Management Board member of REWE International AG, emphasizes: The development of the Romanian market is an important step in our international growth strategy. After entering the Croatian market in 2007, Romania will follow in 2026. We look forward to benefiting from the business opportunities in Romania, continuing our positive development and are convinced that we will also be economically successful in Romania.

Investment in a growing Romanian market

REWE Group has been active in Romania with its PENNY discount store since 2001. The company operates 418 PENNY stores there with around 7,500 employees. BIPA’s expansion is an important step that will have a long-term positive impact on the entire Romanian market, Haraszti is convinced and adds: The development of the Romanian market is a unique REWE joint project that would not have been possible without the support of the local PENNY colleagues.

BIPA’s entry into the Romanian market also means a further boost for an economically emerging country. From 2026, Romanian customers can look forward to an exciting new range of products and services that meet the needs of the Romanian market, offering the highest quality standards at an attractive price-performance ratio.

Austrian Martin Gaber becomes managing director of BIPA Romania

BIPA Romania will be managed by an Austrian in future. Martin Gaber (56) will take over the position of managing director and thus responsibility for BIPA Romania as of June 1. Born in Mödling (Lower Austria), he has already worked for REWE International AG and gained international experience in Italy and Slovakia before moving to Marionnaud Austria (AS Watson Group) as General Manager and on to JosdeVries in Munich. Most recently, he was managing director of Thomas Philipps Handels GmbH in Vienna.

BIPA cuts prices in Austria

BIPA is now permanently reducing the prices of over 300 items across the range – both own brands and branded products – in stores and in the BIPA online store. Through our development, we are leveraging further advantages that we pass on directly to our customers: even more own brands, many great promotional benefits and even more permanent price reductions. We will continue on this path so that our customers can simply shop at a good price, says Andreas Persigehl, Managing Director of BIPA, describing the company’s aim to meet customers’ wishes and needs. On average, prices will be reduced by 10 percent, with some products even seeing price reductions of up to 27 percent.