Deichmann is coming to Brăila Plaza

Deichmann is coming to Brăila Plaza, the retail park developed, built and operated by NestPlus at Strada Industriei 17M in Brăila. The German footwear retailer, present in Romania since 2007, joins the brands of a park that opens on 3 December 2026.

At Brăila Plaza, Deichmann adds to an offer built around everyday shopping (fashion, home, discount, pharmacy and beauty) on a retail platform shared with Kaufland and Lidl. For shoppers, that means footwear for the whole family on the same trip as the weekly shop. Brăila is not a new city for the retailer, which already had a presence here in 2020.

Deichmann's story begins in 1913 in Borbeck, a working-class district of Essen in Germany. There Heinrich Deichmann opened a shoemaker's shop, which he ran with his wife, Julie. The first Deichmann store followed in 1930. The founder's son, Heinz-Horst Deichmann, had already opened branches in nearby towns such as Düsseldorf and Oberhausen. In 1956 he gave up medicine to run the company full-time. The 100th store opened in Würzburg in 1974. At almost the same time the company made its first move abroad, buying the Swiss shoe chain Dosenbach. Since 1999 the company has been led by Heinrich Deichmann, the founder's grandson, and it is still family-owned.

Today Deichmann describes itself as Europe's largest footwear retailer. According to results published in February 2026, the group closed 2025 with sales of around €8.9 billion, up more than 2% after currency adjustment, and sold around 180 million pairs of shoes. It runs around 4,700 stores and 40 online shops in more than 30 countries and employs about 50,000 people. Almost 70% of its revenue comes from abroad. Heinrich Deichmann said the group ended 2025 with a solid result in a difficult market.

In Romania, the first Deichmann store opened in 2007. The network grew from 13 stores at the start of 2009 to 21 by the end of that year, 82 in May 2017 and 120 in June 2025. Since 2016 the brand has also sold online. The latest public figures, from March 2026, put Deichmann at 124 stores in Romania. In stores and online it sold more than 4.2 million pairs, with turnover of around 740 million lei, ahead of the previous year. The company describes itself as the leader in footwear retail in Romania.

The range covers footwear for women, men and children, from trainers and sandals to ankle boots and boots, plus bags, clothing and accessories. Its own brands include Graceland, 5th Avenue, Venice, Catwalk, Medicus, Memphis One and Elefanten. The chain also sells brands such as adidas, Nike, Puma, Skechers and FILA. For 2026 the company announced four new stores in Romania and eight refits in its new store concept. It also plans to invest in e-commerce, omnichannel services and IT. On logistics, ELI Parks announced in October 2024 that Deichmann would open a regional distribution hub at ELI Park Bucharest to serve Central and South-Eastern Europe.

For Brăila Plaza, Deichmann brings a core category into the park's mix: footwear for the whole family, with its own brands and international sports brands in one store. Its stores are linked to the online shop: orders can be collected free of charge through Click & Collect, and returns in store are free. In 2025, Daniel Popa, general manager of Deichmann Romania, summed up the brand's promise as fashionable footwear and top brands in modern stores, with friendly advice, at competitive prices for the whole family. That offer fits the everyday shopping that brings customers to Strada Industriei.