“The furniture export markets have their own problems. The battle we have to fight is about personalization, about moving from volume production with low to zero profitability to custom made production to the customer’s specs,” Sucu said on ZF Live.
“This type of product is where competition is fiercer in Europe. We need to move from ‘made in Romania’ to ‘created in Romania’.”
The Mobexpert group established in 1993 operates a network of 32 furniture stores and hypermarkets with more than 110,000 square meters of retail space, as well as several plants. Its sales increased 12% in lei in the first four months of this year.
Last year’s sales stood at EUR114.5 million.
“As far as I’m concerned, the overall economic climate is more adverse than it has ever been. There’s no improvement, but this doesn’t mean we can’t make any progress. We’ll end 2013 at 5% or 6% more [than in 2012],” the businessman said.
Sucu says his business is 25%-27% lower than in 2008 and the solutions for growth are new business lines, mattresses and garden and patio furniture.
Mobexpert group is the largest furniture industry business in Romania. Other major companies include retailers IKEA, kika and manufacturers Aramis Invest, Italsofa, Taparo and Elvila.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)