This is the newest bet of the Romanian entrepreneur, who says India is one of the “most interesting and sought after emerging markets.”
“On the other hand, we have been interested in Asia and South-East Asia for a while now and we’re already seeing good results in Japan,” Gabriel Cirlig, Jolidon owner told ZF.
Jolidon has therefore worked up the courage to open stores abroad after having closed its retail network outside Romania in 2009-2011, preferring to partner with dealers instead.
The exports of the company based in Cluj (NW Romania) increased by more than 15% in 2012 and generated half of the business. Jolidon Import Export posted revenue growth of 6.5% in lei to 96.3 million (EUR22 million) in 2012 compared with 2011.
“There are countries where we increased exports by 25% or by more than 45%, but the most important is we do have export growth. We’re still focusing on exports, this is the main item in our sales strategy,” Cirlig told ZF.
The lingerie and swimwear producer also consolidated its position in Russia and Ukraine via the partnerships developed with its dealers, and added new customers in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Jolidon officials also said they would develop their relations with the traditional partners on the Western European market in 2013, with customers in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, UK, Ireland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands and Malta.
Jolidon is also developing new collections and production facilities in Romania, and expects sales to go up 5% to 8% this year. It kept its retail network on its home market at 87 stores in 2012, after having previously closed those that were not making any profit.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)