Company Madirom Prod of Timisoara, entirely held by the French group according to the latest ZF data, ended 2013 with revenue of 176.4 million lei, up 15% from 2012 and 2.5 times higher than during the economic boom years. The producer is among Romania’s top 200 exporters.
“Revenue growth was triggered by the rising volume of bicycles produced and delivered. There are also new bicycle models. Bicycle output revolves around 350,000-400,000 units per year,” says Diana Buscan, financial manager of Madirom Prod. The bicycles are assembled jointly with an entrepreneurial business of Resita, Nextcity.
In Romania, the sporting goods retailer assembles the bicycles in Resita, with parts being manufactured in other regions of the world. “A part of components are acquired from Europe and Asia. To a lesser extent, we buy from the Romanian market,” says Diana Buscan.
French group Decathlon, through Madirom, has an exclusive partnership with VeloCity company of Resita, Caras Severin county. Thus, the French company is the one importing the parts and also the owner of end products. Madirom Prod subcontracts the workforce of the company of Resita and the production space.
Marius Mihaila, a 40-year old entrepreneur from Caras-Severin, five years ago developed the plant of Resita together with France-registered company Forces Motrices. He then sealed the exclusive partnership with Decathlon for bicycle assembly, according to ZF’s latest data. The plant of Resita, with 320 employees, generated revenue of around RON21 million last year, up 23% from 2012.
Madirom Prod has just 20 employees as production is secured by the subcontracted company. “For 2014, we expect revenue of around EUR42 million,” states Diana Buscan.
Bicycles assembled in Romania go abroad, in countries such as France, Belgium, Russia or Turkey. Though the French company only assembles in Romania, the domestic market is known in Europe as one of the main producers of bicycle parts and accessories. Thus, according to data provided by the Association of Producers or Bicycles and Parts, Colibi, Romania ranks third in the EU by output of bicycle parts and accessories, with deliveries of EUR200 million in 2012, accounting for 10% of the total, after Germany and Italy.
However, by bicycle production Romania is positioned among the top ten countries in the EU. In 2012, 450,000 units were manufactured in Romania. The most important bicycle production units in Romania are in Resita, Arges (Mechrom Industry) and Deva (DHS).
Decathlon also owns a 13-store network in Romania, with RON234 million in revenue last year, up 20% against the previous year. The figures place the company on the leading position among the largest players on the sporting goods market.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)