Alexandru Vlad, executive manager of Selgros Cash&Carry and one of the few Romanians at the helm of a multinational retail company, with around 4,200 employees and 720 million euros in turnover in 2009, says we will see a rebound of consumer spending in the second half of the year, after a first half with lingering recession.
"Consumption spending did not necessarily fall in terms of units sold, but in terms of value, and this occurred for two reasons. The first is the fight over prices because of tighter competition and the second has to do with more and more consumers going for the first price level."
At present, a wide category of customers are going for the first price level and a narrow category are going for premium prices. The medium price segment was the most hurt during the crisis. In the future, he adds, there will be a customer differentiation by price levels. "This will not occur from one day to another, it will be a long process that will take years."
Vlad believes 2011 will be the year of economic stabilisation, not necessarily in retail, but in the economy as a whole. Fortunately, he says, we are interconnected with Western-European markets, and their stabilisation will bring about our own. "We will probably see a difficult first half and a stable second half."
Alexandru Vlad, executive manager of Selgros Cash&Carry and one of the few Romanians at the helm of a multinational retail company, with around 4,200 employees and 720 million euros in turnover in 2009, says we will see a rebound of consumer spending in the second half of the year, after a first half with lingering recession.
"Consumption spending did not necessarily fall in terms of units sold, but in terms of value, and this occurred for two reasons. The first is the fight over prices because of tighter competition and the second has to do with more and more
