“We will open 5 to 10 stores in the north of the country this year. Bucharest is very far and it is difficult to keep a business under control over such a great distance,” Vasile Lucut, the entrepreneur who founded Unicarm in the early nineties, told ZF.
“Our products reach the whole country, though, even Bucharest.”
Unicarm posted 645 million lei (EUR143 million) sales in 2015, down about 3% on the previous year and expects sales to be flat this year.
“The year 2015 was a good year, with the food VAT cut that showed in consumer spending. The VAT cut helped us keep the business at about the same level as in 2014 and make higher profit,” the entrepreneur said, adding 2016 started well.
Last year’s profit stood at RON29.6 million, an increase of 15% on 2014 and Unicarm budgeted RON30 million net profit for 2016.
Meat generates most of the revenue of the Satu Mare (northern Romania) company, 60%, while the bakery, dairy and ice cream operations account for the rest. Unicarm has about 100 stores of its own where it sells its own products, as well as vegetables, beverages, sweets and detergents. Its products are also available in modern retail chains like Carrefour and Auchan. (EUR1=RON4.5013)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)