The Lemet chipboard furniture producer, with annual net sales worth €25 million, created the Lem’s retail brand two years ago, a network which now includes 100 stores. The company’s turnover from retail amounted to €36.9 mln in 2008.
“At first we were just producers, then we made a network, and then we created Lem’s. We needed the network as far back as 2000, but two years ago we came up with the idea to create a network, Lem’s, and it really caught on. We have invested a lot in this brand in the past few years, in client relations, in making this network accessible, and making ourselves known by clients,” said Alexandru Rizea, the company’s founder and General Manager.
Rus Savitar, a Timisoara-based producer that started off by importing furniture from Poland, and continued with investments worth some €15 mln in production, set out to create an own store network at the end of 2008, under the “Casa Rusu” retail brand. The network was meant to ensure direct access to clients and support the market for the producer, said Cristian Rusu, the firm’s General Manager and founder. The Casa Rusu network, which currently has five stores, is to reach 14 units by year-end and 30 units by the end of 2010. Also, prices in the enterprise’s own stores are 30 percent lower than through other retailers. The company expects a 10 percent rise in net sales this year, on a market where main players estimate a 10 percent drop. Investments in store promotion amount to €1 million in 2009.
Another producer that opted for its own network is Staer International. The Galati-based producer invested €1 mln in opening a large store in the central Romanian city of Brasov and plans to open stores in Bacau, Braila, Focsani, and Targu Mures later this year. Staer’s current network includes 27 stores. The company ended 2008 with €28 mln in net sales. According to data provided by the Romanian Furniture Manufacturers Association, the furniture market increased 14 percent in 2008, to €1.35 billion, while furniture production rose seven percent, to €2 bln from €1.9 bln.
