“We started preparations to launch the Matache Macelaru charcuterie products on the market and the brand will be available throughout our entire retail network in three weeks at most. The entire production will be handled by our factory in Filipestii de Padure [Prahova county in southern Romania],” Radu Timis, who controls the Cristim business along with his wife, told ZF.
The Romanian entrepreneur explained the group was not interested in buying the production facilities, too, because the factory Cristim has in Filipestii de Padure could accommodate a doubling of the production capacity.
Timis says Cristim was also not interested in the Salonta brand, either.
Matache Macelaru was one of the most visible brands in the cold cuts industry from 2008 through 2010, after its shareholders (the Dobronauteanu brothers) made massive investments in promotion. According to previous information, the marketing budget for the Matache Macelaru and Salonta brands amounted to EUR10 million (rate card).
Promotion helped Principal Company, the owner of the charcuterie brands, boost its sales from EUR9.3 million in 2006 to over EUR25 million in 2008. In 2010, however, it went insolvent with 70 million lei (some EUR16 million) in debt, according to information previously provided by the company.
The acquisition of the Matache Macelaru brand is the first such deal ever conducted by Cristim, as its founders and owners preferred organic growth and invested in the development of the factory in Filipestii de Padure.
After investing in the brand and in technology (technology spending reached EUR17 million in the last two years alone, as Timis says), the company is preparing for a new stage, of marketing and communication investments. “We will begin a strong market and communication campaign,” the businessman said without revealing the cost.
He did not say how much he paid for the new brand, either, merely specifying that the deal did not require “outside help” – i.e from a bank or other financial institution.
The acquisition of Matache Macelaru could be one of the factors to contribute to a significant increase in Cristim’s sales next year, along with the company’s focus on foreign markets and investments in agriculture made by Timis family.
Cristim posted EUR80 million sales last year, slightly down from the previous year but saw profit up by 1.5 million lei to RON12.8 million (about EUR3 million). Cristim aims for a profit of EUR4.7 million this year. (EUR1=RON4.3146)
(English version by Loredana Frățilă-Cristescu)