“We expect to have around 50 Pop-Up stores countrywide by yearend,” says Simona Vasiliu, marketing manager of Domo.
The Pop-Up stores were launched at the end of 2014 and make a new concept for the retailer that also owns around 90 classical stores with areas starting from several hundred square meters to over 2,000 square meters, according to ZF latest data.
At the time the first such store was opened, the company’s officials announced plans for 100 such stores by yearend, but expectations have been watered down meanwhile.
Domo embarked upon a restructuring process three years and a half ago, when the number of classical stores topped 130. Since then, the company has shut down unprofitable centers. The company took restructuring further though it has changed its management and shareholders several times.
Kim Koellner is Domo’s first foreign CEO. He replaced Dragos Dinu around one year and a half ago. The company was previously run, for almost two decades, by its founder Lorand Szarvadi. Domo was created around two decades ago by Lorand Szarvadi and in the first phase it imported and distributed international brands such as Zanussi, Bosch or Electrolux. The first store was opened in 1996, two years after the company was set up, and now the network includes almost 90 stores.
The company’s current plans envisage both direct expansion through openings, but also through an acquisition.
“An acquisition is not ruled out, but the sale (of Domo) definitely is.
Domo ended 2013 with revenue of RON584 million (EUR132 million), up around 6% on the year. For 2014, the company had announced it expected revenue worth RON787.5 million, almost 35% above 2013 level. At present, the company’s officials do not specify any figures, but say that “last year we witnessed a positive trend, way above our expectations. We had growth above the market average both on the online and offline segments and we plan to gain market share on several product categories”.
The local electroIT market went beyond the EUR2 billion threshold in 2014 for the first time after 2008, after an increase of around 16%, according to GfK data. “2015 is due to be a challenging year for the retail industry, but the premises are positive as in 2014 we could speak about growth in volume, a sign the market is not saturated, yet. We expect there will be further constant battles on price and promotional activities”.
According to Domo data, in 2014 around 23% of total sales were generated through promotional activities, from 26% in the previous year.
Simona Vasiliu also says 2015 will bring another phenomenon, uptrading, namely clients’ migration from economy products to mainstream. There will also be a shift from mainstream to premium.
As regards Domo, 2015 will be a landmark year from several points of view: it will increase its logistic capacity, expand the team dedicated to services, focus on own brands, develop new ones, approach the market differently through different concepts, says Vasiliu.
According to Domo’s marketing manager, the company will also integrate home&deco and outdoor products in its portfolio.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)