Kaufland Romania has announced that its local sourcing strategy will now extend to the physical construction of every Romanian town, with all future buildings required to be assembled from the chain's own shelving units, pallets and checkout dividers. The company described the move as «the logical next step in investing locally».
Under the plan, residents of each town will be relocated into a single continuous Kaufland aisle, where they will sleep on bread racks and conduct municipal business at the deli counter. The Ministry of Development has already approved the first three towns, which will be dismantled and rebuilt inside a new hypermarket by spring.
«We are not replacing the state,» said Valer Hancaș, Corporate Affairs Director, «but we can contribute to its architecture. Every citizen will now live within walking distance of the products they purchase, because they will be living inside them.»
Local mayors have been issued new timetables requiring them to hold council meetings during the store's opening hours and to wear Kaufland uniforms at all times. The chain has also begun training cashiers to serve as notaries, schoolteachers and traffic police, with the first graduating class expected to staff an entire district by autumn.
By next week, the company says, the town of Brașov will be fully enclosed in a single Kaufland, and residents will receive loyalty cards instead of identity documents.