The company will therefore continue the fast-paced expansion strategy it started in 2009, when the financial crisis began in Romania.
“We have 26 shops all over Romania. We opened the first store in 1999 in Timisoara, and then in Constanta and Brasov. Our retail network spread largely during the period 2009-2012 (in the same time mail order sales did too),” said Jacek Roznowicz, director South-Eastern Europe with Yves Rocher.
The company developed its retail chain through a partner and managed the mail order sales system itself.
This business model that includes both retail and mail order sales is different from the model of the other cosmetics companies operating in Romania, which usually choose either retail or direct sales.
The French company has been operating in this country for more than a decade, at first through a partner and then established Yves Rocher Romania in 2008.
“The two channels (retail and mail order sales i.e.) are complementary. The development of our mail order sales and the better economic situation led to developing our retail,” Jacek Roznowicz said. The company has almost half a million regular clients, he added.
Yves Rocher Romania opened three stores last year and another three by the end of 2011. It plans to speed up expansion, and could open around ten new stores in the next eighteen months.
Most stores operate in shopping centers and retail parks, according to the local corporate website, which is not something only Yves Rocher does but also most mass-market retailers, as mall-based retail is more developed than street front retail.
“We try not to close stores but to find the best location in order to be seen more and better. Our aim is to be where women are and where women wish to see us. We are learning each day from our consumers and moving with them.”
The company says it noticed consumers needed more affordable products during the crisis.
“We faced that challenge by proposing a new pricing strategy at the end of 2011,” Jacek Roznowicz. As a result sales grew in both networks, the executive said.
The retail chain run by Cosmetique de France posted 13 million lei (EUR3 million) sales in 2011, mail order sales stood at RON38 million.
Although he would not reveal 2012 sales figures, he said they saw a two-digit growth and the company expects a similar trend for 2013. (EUR1=RON4.396)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)