The Asbis Romania computer parts distributor plans to enter the desktop PC market and notebook distribution, Asbis General Manager Sorin Stoica told Business Standard. “With this strategy, Asbis intends to increase its net sales by 50 percent, up to $65 million,” [approximately €48.3 million] Stoica said.

The Romanian subsidiary of the international Asbis Enterprises Ltd group posted $43 million (some €34.2 million) in net sales last year, an 83 percent year-on-year increase.

“The 2006 rise was due mainly to the reorganization of the Romanian branch, and financing we obtained from the group once it was listed on the London Stock Exchange, which allowed us to carry larger supplies and a wider range of products,” Stoica said. Asbis has an 8 percent market share in Romania in the field of computer parts distribution. Its main business partners are retailers Ultra Pro Computers and Depozitul de Calculatoare.

Asbis Romania was founded in 1998, and presently has 42 employees, including several regional representatives.
The local IT market was estimated at €1 billion last year, of which 30 percent software and services and 70 percent hardware, according to market research company International Data Corporation (IDC).

Romanians spend less than 2 percent of GDP on IT products, while the European average is 3 percent. Bulgaria, Greece and Lithuania also allocate less than 2 percent for IT, while Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Latvia and Russia allocate 2-2.5 percent.