kika maintains expansion strategy for Romania

“We developed our strategy for Romania taking into consideration the current economic situation, and are thus not compelled to make any changes yet. Since we were aware of the impending situation when launching kika in Romania, we were able to anticipate a downturn and to plan accordingly. It may have affected us significantly had we opened the store prior to the economic downturn, but since this was not the case we are happy to have entered the Romanian market when we did,” the company’s General Manager and owner, Paul Koch, told Business Standard.

The company official did not wish to disclose the financial results regarding sales since the company entered the local market. “Our realized sales figures were in line with our projected sales, which were calculated very carefully. I can report that the average value per receipt is taking on a positive trend, as more and more customers discover all that kika has to offer,” Koch added.

The local retail furniture market was affected by the economic crisis. Market leader Mobexpert announced a drop in sales of five percent in lei and 20 percent in foreign currency at the end of the first quarter of this year, as a result of the depreciation of the national currency. Major players expect the decline to continue on the market, due to limited lending and consumer caution. The local furniture market is valued at €1.3 billion by the Romanian Furniture Manufacturers Association (APMR).