“We started exporting the Gerovital anti-aging line thirty five years ago and got good results both before and after 1989. The awareness of our product line meant a good a name for us when it comes to our exports and we’re now exporting to 35 countries. Exports have doubled in the last three to four years.”
The company exports to Europe, Asia, Africa, United States and Middle East, where interest for its products remains high after years of working with the partners there.
“We’ve been seeing export growth. We started investing in our traditional countries and in the countries in Eastern Europe, in Hungary, Poland, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.”
Mircea Turdean believes the government should be more helpful with the promotion of Romanian companies abroad, where there is a lot of untapped potential.
“I think we need to be better represented abroad and I think there’s a lot of potential. We need the government, its resources, its experts, embassies, economic advisors to be more helpful with promoting Romanian companies.”
The company posted EUR27 million revenue last year. It makes cosmetics, which generate 75% of its sales and household cleaning and care products, which generate 25%. Half of Farmec’s sales are done via retail chains (retail pharmacies included) and half via traditional retail.
“Five years ago we would sell 30% through modern retailers and 70% through traditional retailers.
Farmec invests in two types of retail equally, because they are equally profitable, Turdean says.
Farmec has an about 400-product portfolio and each year the company releases 60 or 70 new products. Its sales in the first eight months went up 16%, the general manager said.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)