Jumbo's nine-month sales rise 7.6 percent

Greece's largest toy seller Jumbo reported a 7.6 percent rise in sales for the nine months to March on Wednesday thanks to double-digit growth in Cyprus and Bulgaria.

The figure is higher than the company's outlook for an increase in sales of between four and six percent in the 12 months to June 2014.

Jumbo, which operates 52 stores in Greece and another 14 in Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania, said sales rose to 410.9 million euros ($566.81 million) in the first nine months of the fiscal year.

Retail business in Greece has been hit hard by four years of austerity measures the country has imposed in exchange for loans from the European Union and IMF. But Jumbo has fared well mainly due to robust performances in its foreign operations.

The company said that its Cypriot and Bulgarian business grew at a double-digit rate in the third quarter. Sales were also boosted by the company's first two shops in Romania, which opened last year.

As part of its investment strategy, the retailer aims to open another 14 to 16 stores in Romania over the next five years. In Greece, it plans to opens six to eight new stores in the next three to four years.

[Reuters]