“November was a very good month, we saw 20% growth on November last year. We had 70% to 80% growth on Black Friday compared with the year-ago period. We expect this double-digit increase to last until the end of the year,” Serban Radu, one of the two owners of the bookstore chain, told ZF.
Carturesti, held by Nicoleta Dumitru and Serban Radu, opened a bookstore in Cluj-Napoca, one in Targu-Mures, one in Bacau, one in Ramnicu Valcea and Carturesti Fandom, Verona (Bucharest) replacing the former Café Verona in the basement of the bookstore building this year. In July it opened a store in Zalau. It also put Arad and Craiova on the development map.
“We want to cover as many cities as possible, we’ll go where there is demand, although the cost of opening a bookstore has almost doubled. Consumption is on the rise, however, both in volume and in value.”
Carturesti is a business the two started in 2000 and ended last year with EUR55 million revenue. Its owners plan to open bookstores in Satu Mare, Baia Mare, Pitesti and Iasi and Cluj next year, its officials said.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)