GP Sofa, a company held by Italian entrepreneur Giuseppe Pavone, filed for insolvency at the end of 2017, due to cash flow problems. The Finance Ministry data show the company had 225 million lei (EUR49 million) debt and RON112 million losses in 2017. Its revenue stood at RON132 million that year, almost 30% lower than in 2016. The number of employees has since shrunk to 900, 400 fewer than in 2016.
GP Sofa had developed in full gear until 2016, growing to 1,300 employees, three times more than in 2010. Its creditors include distributor Betarom Fastening, carrier Fabex Logistic, polyurethane foam maker Vitafoam Romania and UniCredit Bank. There are more than 200 creditors in all.
The Bulletin of Insolvency Proceedings reports show that one of the causes that drove GP Sofa into insolvency was the investments made in boosting production capacity in the absence of a thorough analysis beforehand. The management of the company in 2016 announced production would triple in the following three years.
Established by Italian businessman Giuseppe Pavone in Satu Mare in 2001, GP Sofa developed as a manufacturer of solid wood sofas, tables and chairs for the Italian market at first. It then expanded to making beds and sofas.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)