German discount retailer Lidl seeks to capture a 3% share on Bulgaria's market within three years, Milena Dragiyska, manager of the company's local division, said as quoted by Regal magazine.

The retailer will open its first outlets in the country on November 25 and will raise their number to between 20 and 25 by February 2011, with plans to roll out more units in the summer.

Each store will have an average retail space of 1,000 square metres, with the first shops planned in Sofia, Montana, Petrich, Plovdiv, Kurdzhali, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Gabrovo, Lovech and Varna.

At the turn of 2010, the store operator will open other outlets in Plovdiv, Varna and Sofia, as well as in Rousse, Velingrad and Veliko Turnovo.

The company will simultaneously unveil the re-branded Plus stores, recently acquired by the German retailer, which currently number 24. In the summer of 2011, Lidl will step in cities located on the Black Sea coast, including Burgas and Varna, and will also open units in regional centres such as Pleven.

Lidl aims to have developed a network of up to 25 outlets by the end of the financial year in Germany, or February 28. The retailer has so far invested over EUR 100 million in its Bulgarian stores, Dragiyska said.

The company has also paid an additional EUR 300,000 for each unit's equipment. Lidl's retail chain expansion in Bulgaria is being funded with own funds.

Earlier in 2010, parent Schwarz Group applied for a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to fund the operations of Lidl and peer Kaufland in the region.