IKEA thus beat the monthly average of do-it-yourself retailers (EUR125), but is still below the monthly revenue of Metro, for instance, the most important company in domestic retail (EUR400/month).
The same indicator stands at EUR76 in the case of Mobexpert Pipera, while kika sales revolve around EUR51.
IKEA’s monthly sales were calculated on the basis of Finance Ministry data for IKEA Romania. The retailer’s representatives say the company was set up in November 2010; until that date the store in Baneasa had been operated by Moaro Trading. In March 2010, the store was purchased by the Swedish giant from businessman Puiu Popoviciu, who owned the IKEA franchise. There is no public information on Moaro Trading’s 2010 revenue.
Mobexpert’s Baneasa store is located next to the IKEA store, and the area is due to become a hub for furniture retail, so it also attracted the interest of kika, the Austrian retailer that entered Romania in 2008.
IKEA, Mobexpert and kika, the largest retailers by store size, are competing with companies such as Elvila, Neoset, Lemet and Jysk for the money Romanians spend on furniture, revolving around EUR900 million. The industry is still in decline, having shrunk by 12% in the first five months, to EUR350 million, according to data provided by the Association of Furniture Producers in Romania (APMR).
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)