The company’s sales are seen down 36% compared with 2013.
miniPRIX has four physical units in Romania and one online store, which was opened four years ago when the online garments sales were nearly starting to develop. Over the years, the company has developed the online store in the form of a shopping mall, similar with eMag, the leader of the online market.
Starting 2014, Miniprix has gradually gave up its partnerships and kept a low range of products.
Thus, in 2015, the company forecasts sales of RON49 million, down 20% from 2014. Online sales are seen at nearly RON19 million, down 20% from a year before, according to Ana Maria Cristina, company’s owner and former president with Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment ARIS. Thus, the share of online sales of all sales will be at 39%, lower from 42% in 2013, which was the best year for miniPRIX’s business.
The company’s sales were also affected over the last years by an increase in the product return rate by 50% in 2014 versus 2013 and by 20% in 2015, according to forecasts.
The latest physical store the company opened was the one in the Bucharest residential district of Militari in 2008, the last year of economic boom. The other three stores, in the 1 Mai area, Piata Romana square and Otopeni area, were opened between 1999 and 2001.
Miniprix stores have a hard-discount policy, which means the company buys stocks of merchandise and sells the products at lower prices.
Miniprix buys clothing, footwear and accessories from several Romanian and foreign retailers and producers, and then sells the products at 20-30% of the original price.
(English version by Manuela Panescu)