“The year 2016 was a year of new projects, which are part of our long-term strategy. One of them is our own manufacturing facility,” says Petru Chiriac, the co-founder and manager of the Il Passo business.
“Although the new projects entailed significant investment, the revenue and profit margin were higher than in 2015.”
The plant inaugurated last year now contributes 30% of the supply available in stores. The Il Passo group started as a retail business and then added manufacturing operations. Besides the footwear made in its own plant, Il Passo’s stores also carry footwear made in Brazil, Portugal, Turkey, Italy and other plants in Romania.
The Il Passo group posted 48.4 million lei revenue last year, up about 6% on 2015. It has 17 stores, an outlet store and an online store.
“This year we’re focusing on implementing a new store design concept in the existing locations but do not rule out opening a new one (…).”
Il Passo also seeks to expand its retail business via franchising but is still looking for the right partners. It is also considering expansion abroad in the region, first online and then offline.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)