“We will see 14% higher sales than in 2010 and if we open those bakeries we plan to, sales will reach about EUR1.5 million in 2012,” said Carmen Lupulet, the bakery chain’s communication manager.
Two years after entering the local market, the chain has six shops, writes Business Magazin. “We have two shops in Baneasa Shopping City, two in AFI Palace Cotroceni and one in Sun Plaza and Maritimo Shopping Center each,” says Carmen Lupulet.
This is Puiu Popoviciu’s fourth venture on the local market of restaurants and confectionery shops. He also owns stakes, though indirectly, via Cyprus-registered Tatika Investments, in the KFC fast-food chain, in Pizza Hut and Paul Bakeries.
The latest bet of the businessman during the crisis is the bakery & confectionery shop chain Cinnabon. Tatika Investments owns 31.6% in it, while the rest is divided among Bladon Enterprises (registered in Cyprus, as well), Lunic Franchising and Consulting (Cyprus) and Catalin Ionescu (the current chief executive officer of KFC).
The bakery & confectionery shop chain has a daily average of 900 customers who go into a Cinnabon shop and buy something. “We carry seven types of products, such as classic cinnamon rolls and cupcakes, and will expand our portfolio with products developed by our parent company periodically.”
The average cash bill is 13 lei (EUR3) and the target customers are 25 to 47-year old women with average and above-average incomes looking for a sweet treat after shopping at the mall.
Therefore the company is looking for space inside malls and shopping centers with traffic higher than 10,000 people a day, in order to expand.
“According to the data we have, there is room for at least 30 bakeries on the local market,” Lupulet said.
As such, the company plans openings in Palas, Iasi (NE Romania), in Iulius and Polus in Cluj and Oradea Shipping Center or Lotus Oradea (NW Romania), while in Bucharest it is looking at Bucuresti Mall and Plaza Romania.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)