“Our target is to preserve the top spot on the market,” says Radu Caprau, chairman of the board of directors of OMV Petrom Marketing, the EUR3.2 billion company overseeing the 544 Petrom and OMV gas stations in Romania.
“We believe we will have the ideal distribution network by 2016, when we complete the fuel transport infrastructure. The number of stations is optimal for us now (…) If infrastructure projects, beltways or highways develop, our number of stations will increase. We have reached a balance for the time being.”
Radu Caprau is also the official in charge of OMV Petrom Marketing’s optimization process.
Although it is hard for rivals to get close to Petrom, save for a deal, the company has been losing market share to increased competition on this about EUR9.5 billion market. It went from 39% market share in 2010 to 34% in 2014, according to its annual report.
A change of strategy in the management of gas stations has become visible in the past year, though. Petrom started to offset the lost sales by turning its gas stations into service centers. Customers can drop packages for delivery, buy flowers or concert tickets and OMV even introduced its own coffee brand for the OMV gas stations. Even pharmacies were considered.
OMV first introduced the concept of additional services in 2006 and since Petrom’s gas stations are open 24/7 such services make sense.
While OMV gas stations provide a wider range of services, the strategy for Petrom stations focuses on fuel price above all, Radu Caprau says.
Non-oil business generates about 6% of OMV Petrom Marketing sales (EUR200 million), and helped keep company’s revenue steady despite the decline in fuel sales volumes, the executive said.
Radu Caprau expects fuel sales to be flat in 2015. However, the sales volume has been somewhat better because of the drop in prices compared with last year. The oil price plunging from $115 last summer to less than $50 took the gas price to less than RON5 per liter for the first time in four years. Prices have risen since the beginning of the year as a result of the slight rebound of the oil price and the strengthening of the US currency.
The Petrom official does not expect to see any surprises on the market, which is now dominated by four major players, Petrom, Rompetrol, Lukoil and MOL Romania.
“I expect a consolidation of the market rather than new players,” OMV Petrom Marketing representative added.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)