Romania: COVID-19 Transforms Romanian Retail and Food Service Sectors

The fallout from COVID-19 and subsequent social isolation and government-imposed restrictions on businesses and have deeply affected Romania’s hospitality, restaurant, and institutional (HRI), and food retails sectors. The impact of the pandemic will likely continue to reverberate across these sectors in both the near- and long-term. Although the Government of Romania (GOR) seeks to support these sectors through policy initiatives, many small- and medium-sized enterprises are at risk of going out of business. Since Romania’s first COVID-19 case on February 26, 2020, Romanian consumers have dramatically shifted away from shopping in traditional markets and modern retail outlets in favor of online shopping. The restaurant industry is losing about $460 million a month. Estimated losses in the hotel industry in 2020 will approach $ 1.15 billion. On July 15, 2020, Romania reached almost 35,000 confirmed cases and its official state of alert was extended through mid-August 2020.

Romania: COVID-19 Transforms Romanian Retail and Food Service Sectors