Currently, two thirds of the sales come from traditional trade, namely small stores, while the rest from large retail networks and exports, according to the company’s founder Radu Timis.
“Exports represent 10% of total sales, while the share is annually getting higher. In 2015, for example, we forecast exports of 20%. Cris-Tim products are marketed on 18 markets besides Romania,“ Timis explained.
According to Timis, sales from modern retail, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets or discount stress, represent 27% of all business, while the direct sales to small traders accounts for the rest.
The modern retail in Romania includes 12 foreign networks with 1,500 supermarkets, hyper¬marke¬ts or discount stores with total annual sales of EUR8.5 to EUR9 billion.
Cris-Tim has developed over the years a network of 15 branded retail stores, which it has become a secondary business. The company does not plan to make a powerful expansion in the next future on this segment. We wanted to develop but reached the conclusion we weren’t competitive with companies on the black market.“
Radu Timis, 53, brought Cris-Tim among the top 10 sausages producers in Romania over the last 20 years.
The group’s companies include Recunoștinta Prod-Com managing the sausages factory at Filipestii de Padure, Eco-Ferm, operating the dairy production and processing factory, Impex Cristim, representing the products and stores unit, and Cristim2Prodcom, which is the largest company of the group. Cristim2Prodcom posted sales of RON350 million in 2014, up 18% from a year before.
The group’s brands are Cris-Tim and Matache Macelaru, as well as Mandruta.
Timis added that the company will increase investments this year, from EUR5 million to EUR8 million, due to the first quarter results.
Cris Tim will invest this year in a ready meal factory, a winery, an ice-cream factory, in logistics and in boosting the production capacity of its already existing factories.
Last year, Cris Tim group invested a total of EUR8 million in a salami factory, the expansion of its dry cured meats production, automated packaging lines, quality management and increased storage capacity.
Cris Tim’s main competitors on the local market are Caroli, Agricola, Kosarom and Elit.
(English version by Manuela Panescu)