Steilmann Bukarest, one of the top five players in the textile industry, is set to open 20 Steilmann-branded stores on the Romanian market this year, in the wake of investments worth approximately 2.5 million euros.
Steilmann now owns 60 stores domestically, while the group's policy pursues a 100-store network by late 2009.
"Investments in arranging a store revolve around 500 euros per square metre, while retail areas cover between 200 and 300 square metres," stated Romeo Pomponiu, general manager of Steilmann Bukarest, who also owns 49% in the company.
Miro Radici, the Italian group that took over the Steilmann brand internationally in late 2006, decided that the project to develop Steilmann Bukarest would also include taking over the management of Steilmann store networks in Central and Eastern Europe in countries like Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary or the Republic of Moldova.
"Domestically, we've been present in almost all the cities in the country, in both large cities such as Timisoara and smaller cities such as Satu Mare, Baia Mare and Suceava (...)," says Pomponiu.
At present, almost half the stores opened under the Steilmann brand are present in malls and the company's development strategy more frequently includes these shopping centres.
The company's retail turnover amounted to about 21 million euros last year, while forecasts point to a more than 10% increase for this year, which would mean turnover worth above 23 million euros. However, the company's revenues stand at over 100 million euros, a value that includes retail operations in the countries Steilmann Bukarest coordinates and produces in. "For 2008, we expect a two-digit growth rate, which means turnover would go beyond 110m euros," says Pomponiu.
In Romania, the company owns seven factories in cities such as Satu Mare, Craiova, Sibiu, Sighetu
