“The network is changing permanently. We now have 85 stores. Looking back, we had 86, but also 100. There has been a correction. Nothing keeps us from having 100 stores, but they were not what we needed. We do not have a target for the number of stores. We have been focusing on larger stores lately,” Rizea told ZF in an interview.
The entrepreneur hailing from the mountain town of Campina, who started the business 23 years ago, says the company has gone against the current, as the development of its store network started in 2008, as the crisis hit. From an average area of 400 square meters per store at that time, the company has now doubled the area. Half of furniture producer’s stores are now in malls and shopping centers.
Only seven of Lem’s stores are owned and the rest are franchises, but unlike the model of a classical franchise, Lemet does not cash in any royalties from partners.
Lemet is one of the few producers that dared expand during the crisis, in an industry dominated by Romanian entrepreneurs. “During all these years, we’ve had the same policy: we’ve sacrificed profit to network development,” explains Rizea, adding he is not the one who coordinates store network development. The task is handled by his son, Adrian, the commercial manager of Lemet.
Overall, Lem’s units have a 68,000-sqm area and in the first 8 months of this year sales reached 138 million lei (EUR30 million), up 10% on the year. “Since the start of this year, I’ve permanently had this message for my colleagues. I announced this would be a year of growth, with good signals and looking at figures this is such a year”.
In production, Lemet’s main project this year envisages building a new hall, following investments of more than EUR1.2 million. “We have several options and we want to diversify our activity. Not because we are not satisfied, but because we want to add hardwood to our product range”.
In a ranking of local furniture producers (not including retail), Lemet is among the top 15 players, but unlike most other players in the furniture business, which preferred the imports, Lemet has focused on the domestic market. Romania is still Rizea’s bet. Lemet SRL company in 2013 generated revenue of EUR20 million and had over 500 employees.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)