Bonatti, Sinsay and Galileo: October store openings in Slovenia

Bonatti, Sinsay and Galileo have announced store openings in Celje and Maribor for October 2026. According to a report published by Dnevne novice on 30 September, Bonatti will open first at Citycenter Celje, followed by Sinsay at Supernova Maribor. Galileo is also scheduled to open at the same Maribor shopping centre towards the end of the month. For those interested in Slovenia’s franchise market, this is an overview of changes at retail locations, not confirmation of new franchised outlets.

Bonatti’s first store in Celje

According to the published announcement, Bonatti will open its first store in Celje on 1 October. The branch will be on the ground floor of Citycenter Celje. The geographical distinction matters: this marks the brand’s arrival in Celje, not its debut in Slovenia. Nor does the announcement concern a new shopping centre; it is an addition to the retail offering at an existing one.

Stradivarius reopened at the same centre in early September following refurbishment. According to the source, the refurbished branch is now the brand’s largest store in Slovenia. These are therefore two different developments: Bonatti is adding a new location in the city, while Stradivarius has reopened after refurbishment.

This distinction is important when monitoring the local retail offering. Refurbishing an existing store and opening a brand’s first branch in a city are not the same thing, although both affect a shopping centre’s retail mix. The source gives no details of the new Bonatti store’s floor area, staffing or investment, so the scale of this expansion cannot be quantified further.

Sinsay to take over the former Hervis premises

The second opening with an announced date is at Supernova Maribor. Sinsay is expected to open there on 22 October 2026, in premises previously occupied by Hervis. Dnevne novice reports that both Supernova Maribor and Sinsay confirmed the information to Mariborinfo.

Alongside the date, the key detail is the premises: the new store will occupy a former tenant’s space. The announcement therefore describes a specific change to the retail offering within an existing shopping centre. It does not, however, provide details of the store’s size, the extent of the refit or the number of jobs associated with the opening.

Until the store actually opens, 22 October should be treated as a planned date. Confirmation of the plans is useful for tracking developments, but it is not a report of a store that has already opened. The available material also provides no details of any opening promotions.

Galileo to add another Maribor store

A Galileo store is also being prepared for opening at Supernova Maribor. The announced timeframe is late October, but the available research does not specify an exact day. The opening therefore cannot be assigned the same date as Sinsay’s, or any other specific day. Both announcements concern the same shopping centre, but their schedules differ in precision.

Galileo already operates in Maribor. According to the source, it has a store at Europark and an outlet at Mercator Centre Tabor II. The planned Supernova branch will therefore be an additional location in the city, rather than the brand’s first entry into the Maribor market. This is the key distinction from Bonatti’s planned first opening in Celje.

When reviewing retail network expansion, it is useful to distinguish between entering a new city and adding a location where a brand is already present. In Galileo’s case, the research supports the latter interpretation. It provides no information about potential changes to other branches, so the new opening should not be taken to imply relocations or closures elsewhere.

What the announcements mean for the franchise community

All three October announcements involve additions to the retail offering at existing shopping centres. The available information provides an overview of brands, locations and planned dates, but does not support a broader assessment of growth in Slovenia’s retail market. Three openings alone do not reveal how the total number of stores, sales or demand for retail space is changing.

The source also does not explain the ownership or operating model of the planned stores. This material therefore does not justify presenting Bonatti, Sinsay or Galileo as new franchise opportunities in Slovenia. For members of the franchise community, the information is primarily a starting point for monitoring the local retail offering and changes at individual locations.

Practical takeaway: when planning a visit or monitoring competitors, bear in mind the announced dates of 1 and 22 October, and check for confirmation of Galileo’s exact opening date. Before making a business assessment, also verify each store’s operating model separately: an opening announcement is not evidence of a franchise arrangement.