“We will open three more stores in Romania, two in Bucharest – in April and June and one in another part of the country in the fall. They will all be branded Anna Cori and will be managed by Denis Shoes SRL,” says Ilie Cornea, the entrepreneur who started the business about two decades ago.
Whereas Why Denis is a premium brand, Anna Cori targets average income customers. As the company has previously said, one pair of Anna Cori shoes costs 300 lei (EUR66) on average, while Why Denis costs RON500.
Denis was established about two decades ago but at first only worked with distributors, which sold the products in partner stores. The owner of the company is the Cornea family, which started with a workshop with ten employees. They built everything from scratch, the workshop, the shoe and bag factories and the store chain. Denis used to make only men’s footwear until ten years ago and then diversified by adding women’s shoes. Five years ago it invested in a factory that makes leather items (bags and accessories).
“We own two plants in Suceava, one that makes shoes and one that makes bags and accessories, as well as a design workshop. Out of 504 employees, 160 work in the store chain and the rest in manufacturing. We intend to hire more people.”
The Denis plant made 1,200 to 1,400 pairs of shoes on average a day last year, depending on season and collection.
“We want to go beyond the 1,600 pairs of shoes per day average in 2017.”
The company decided to expand with its own retail chain in 2000 and open the first store in Suceava. About three years ago it reached Bucharest, and opened its first store there in Baneasa Shopping City. The name of the company and of the Why Denis stores was inspired by the name of one of the Cornea family’s daughters. Anna Cori was another name inspired by a family member.
The business is now handled by two entities, Denis and Denis Shoes. The former operates the plant and some of the stores, while the second only handles the retail part. (EUR1=RON4.5515)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)