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  • Gap deschide al doilea magazin In Romania

    Impreuna cu partenerii sai din regiunea Europei de Sud-Est, grecii de la Marinopoulos Holding, GAP deschide vineri, 19 iunie, cel de-al doilea magazin din tara noastra. Locatia are o suprafata totala de 800 de metri patrati, 40 de reprezentanti de vanzari si ofera articole de imbracaminte si accesorii prin liniile GAP, GapKids si babyGap.

    Ca si in cazul primul magazin (deschis in Baneasa Shopping City), reprezentantii Marinopoulos au preferat spatiile comerciale de minim 700 mp din mall-uri, in locul celor stradale, pentru a-si asigura astfel un flux constant de clienti. Francizorii iau in calcul si varianta deschiderii unui al treilea magazin, precum si introducerea brandului Banana Republic in acest an, dar nu au facut public inca un plan oficial in acest sens.

  • Primul megaplex din Romania

    Pana in acest moment, compania a deschis in Romania patru cinematografe, la Iasi, Timisoara , Cluj si Bacau, in urma unei investitii de 10 milioane de euro. "Pana la finalul lui 2009 vom mai deschide la Pitesti, Cotroceni si in cadrul complexului Sun Plaza", a afirmat Moshe (Mooky) Greidinger, CEO, al Grupului Cinema City International, precizand ca in megaplexul care se va afla in cadrul mall-ului AFI Palace Cotroceni din Bucuresti s-au investit 10 milioane de euro. La scurt timp dupa inaugurarea megaplexului din Cotroceni care va contine 17 sali de cinema, o sala IMAX si trei sali pentru VIP-uri, Cinema City Romania va mai deschide unul, cu 15 sali de cinema, in cadrul Sun Plaza Mall, din Bucuresti.
     

    "Criza ne-a afectat in doua feluri", a spus Greidinger. "Pe de-o parte pozitiv, in sensul ca oamenii in loc sa calatoreasca sau sa aleaga alte activitati care implica cheltuieli mai mari vin la cinema, deoarece este mai ieftin, iar pe de alta negativ, deoarece multe dintre proiectele de deschidere ale noilor cinematografe au fost oprite, datorita situatiei dificile in care se afla dezvoltatorii", a completat acesta.
     

    In prezent compania detine o cota de piata de 15%, iar, potrivit CEO-ului anul acesta va creste, datorita noilor deschideri. Pana la finalul anului 2009 compania si-a propus ca in Europa sa aiba un total de 700 de sali de cinema, iar pana la finalul lui 2012 in jur de 1.000.
     

  • Prima campanie de promovare pentru pufuleti

    Pentru prima data o campanie de comunicare readuce in atentia publicului, intr-o maniera neconventionala, pufuletii romanesti autentici, de nostalgica amintire si totusi vesela prezenta contemporana. Patru agentii de comunicare au colaborat la dezvoltarea campaniei, de la strategia de brand, spoturi TV si pana la campania de PR si on-line.

    Gusto este liderul pietei de pufuleti din Romania potrivit volumului de vanzari. Compania Phoenix, producatorul Gusto, si-a inceput activitatea in urma cu 17 ani, cu o mica linie de productie amplasata in casa unuia dintre asociati. In prezent, fabrica moderna detinuta la Baicoi are o capacitate de productie de peste 1 milion de pungi pe zi, una dintre cele mai mari la nivel european. Compania exporta pufuleti in 8 tari, iar cifra de afaceri inregistrata in anul 2008 se apropie de 15 milioane de euro. Aparatura inovativa si reteta unica de pufuleti folosita de companie au stabilit standardul calitatii in domeniu si au asigurat succesul produsului.
    Phoenix este prima companie producatoare de pufuleti care deruleaza un program de comunicare pentru consumatorii romani.

    Campania pufuletilor Gusto a debutat cu misterioasa aparitie in lanurile de langa Baicoi a trei fete zambitoare gigant. Pentru o saptamana, cele trei desene au fost subiect de discutii atat in presa, cat si pe cele mai importante bloguri, si nimeni nu a facut legatura cu fabrica de pufuleti de la Baicoi. Prin aceste desene, pufuletii Gusto au atras atentia oamenilor pentru a da startul campaniei pentru optimism, care va dura cel putin pana la finalul anului. Odata interesul starnit, pentru a aduce zambetul pe fetele romanilor, pufuletii Gusto au creat reclame TV care vorbesc in cheie umoristica despre optimism indestructibil si au initiat Liga Optimistilor.

    “Aceasta campanie ni se potriveste ca o manusa, reprezinta exact felul nostru de a fi – mereu optimisti si inzestrati cu simtul umorului. Suntem o companie mica, daca ne comparam cu marile multinationale, dar consumatorii ne-au aprecia”, a declarat Eliodor Apostolescu, unul dintre detinatorii companiei Phoenix.
     

  • Plus la Victoria

    Noul magazin este situat in Str. 1 Decembrie 1918 si are o suprafata aproximativa de 1.200 mp, dintre care 900 mp suprafata de vanzare unde se regasesc 1.500 de produse. Magazinul este o constructie de tip ”freestander”, care respecta un format standard si dispune de 63 de locuri de parcare.

    ”Pentru 2009 am planificat deschiderea a 20-25 de magazine, ce necesita un buget de 30-38 de milioane de euro”, declara anterior Ioana Marginean, director de marketing al Plus Discount Romania. Mai mult, compania a bugetat si extinderea platformei logistice de la Ploiesti si achizitia terenului pentru constructia celui de-al doilea centru logistic din Transilvania, pentru care sunt necesare 20 de milioane de euro.
    Pe segmentul de retail de tip discount in Romania mai activeaza Penny, Profi, Kaufland si XXL.
     

  • Who Is Hiring

    ”To us the high number of unemployed in the economy is an opportunity because now we have plenty to hire from,” Theodor Alexandrescu, chief executive of insurance company AIG Life, told BUSINESS Magazin. To insurers, personnel recruitment had been a very complicated matter until recently, because of the tight competition in the financial sector and the small numbers of specialists available. This year AIG wants to hire new sales agents and now Alexandrescu has plenty to pick from, because there are enough people who have or will lose their jobs. To companies that are not forced by the crisis to operate personnel cutbacks, the high number of unemployed is an opportunity, because it is easier to find the right people at lower costs than before. To others, the fact they have plenty to choose from is a good opportunity to cut their salary budgets, replacing high-salary employees with lower-paid ones.

    Besides professional reorientation or development of a small business – the solutions proposed by the authorities, or the possibility to seek a job on a foreign market, the private sector offers a natural way to address the unemployment issue, or at least part of it. Despite the wave of redundancies over the last few months, there are also companies that are hiring especially on the retail market, in the consumer goods industry, outsourcing or financial services. Some are hiring because they are expanding, some are both firing and hiring, and some are consolidating their business and hiring only for certain key positions. The Real hypermarket network set out to hire about 2,000 people, both for the 20 strong- store chain that it operates in the country and for the stores to be opened.

    The company is mainly looking for bakers, pastry chefs, confectioners, meat, fish and fresh product specialists and will mostly recruit from among the ranks of the unemployed, says Ramona Toma, manager for recruitment, training and development. She, too, notes the high interest in the job ads, which was not so common back when the economy was doing fine and companies were fighting over employees. ”There is an avalanche of job seekers on the market and we expect it to maintain until the end of the year.” In addition, she says, ”we are seeing a shift from very high paid offers to those that provide security.” In the same business, hypermarket chain Carrefour is hiring 1,200 people this year and the Germans at Rewe approximately 1,800, according to the officials of the two companies quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

    Bricostore, one of the biggest players on the DIY market has 250 jobs available in three counties this year where it will open stores (Calarasi, Deva and Drobeta- Turnu-Severin). The service outsourcing market has high hopes for the crisis period: to cut costs, more and more companies are choosing to outsource an entire series of related activities. To outsourcing companies, this is new business and as a result, a need to hire. Easy Call, Accenture, Linea Directa Communication, Wipro and Genpact are but some of them. ”We are interested to integrate candidates that were affected by mass layoff policies, from fields such as banking or financial services. We have already hired a few people in this situation,” Genpact Romania officials told BUSINESS Magazin. As far as Easy Call, a call-centre operator is concerned, the number of employees should go up by 1,000 this year, while Linea Directa Communication will hire, chief executive Dejan Grbic says, about 250 new people.

  • The Empty Half of the Glass

    A year ago, when the crisis seemed far away from the Romanian real estate market, some of the more pessimistic residential brokers talked about the large number of apartments which would be completed, and whose windows would not be lit in the evening, pointing to the fact that a significant percentage of the new homes had been acquired by investors, and not by people who would be living in them. According to estimates, such apartments are expected to account for 30 to 50% of the overall number of homes sold, most of which are due for completion this year.

    2009 should, indeed, bring Bucharest the largest number of newly-completed homes included in residential complexes with at least 100 apartments, according to data collected by BUSINESS Magazin for its supplement ”The Real Estate Market – Exit from Crisis?”. A series of large projects, whose construction started in previous year – in full boom of the residential market, such as Asmita Gardens, Confort City, Cosmopolis, Rasarit de Soare and InCity will be fully or partially completed this year, with the ten largest to total over 7,000 units. However, the number of those that will remain in the dark will be much bigger than previously estimated, if we look at the fact that over 40% of the apartments and homes to be completed this year have yet to be sold.

    ”We have around 35% homes available for sale. We will not cut prices, not even by 0.1%, this has in fact been our policy in the last few months. We have yet to make a decision on the apartments to be completed, and which will remain unsold by then,” says Atena Tiplic, sales manager of the 765-apartment Asmita Gardens project, which will be completed in two stages, the last of which this autumn. The same sales policy is pursued by Conarg Real Estate, developer of Rasarit de Soare, one of the projects which performed well at its launch and which sold around 500 units in the first few months. ”We have 450 apartments left to sell, but we won’t cut prices, this is not a solution,” says the developer’s manager, Romeo Cazanescu. He grounds this policy on the fact that the developer had launched the project at the beginning of last year with prices below the market average.

  • Watchmakers Sail their Way into the Past

    This trend appears to have become common among watchmakers, too, which are getting involved in events meant to consolidate the link between the history of the brand and the technologydriven present. Officine Panerai has been sponsoring the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge for 5 years, a regatta which includes vintage and classic boats, and has been involved in one of the most extensive restoration projects aimed at a vintage boat, Eilean. The Breguet manufacturer has not forgotten that its founder was also Marie Antoinette’s watchmaker, and has sponsored the restoration of the Petit Trianon, the queen’s favourite place.

    For its part, Parmigiani Fleurier has not allowed the success of its new collections to become too overwhelming, and instead became involved in restoration of historic clocks, declared ”dead” by the rest of the specialists. The Vauban harbour, close to the Saint Jaume bastion in Antibes, on the Côte d’Azur, became for 4 days in June the scene of one stage of the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge. It was in fact a genuine historical parade, because each of the boats (some more than one hundred years old) has over time collected stories that would not be out of place in a Hollywood movie script.

    Moonbeam IV from 1914, a 33 metre-long aurica cutter, where Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly spent their honeymoon was one of last year’s winners. Each of this year’s winners, among which Rowdy, from 1916, which won in the over 15-metre Vintage, category and Chaplin, declared a winner of the under 15- metre Classic category, received a Panerai Luminor 1950 Regatta Rattrapante. Available in a limited edition of 500, the watch is a split-seconds chronograph, accompanied by a chronometer certificate, and indicates the final 5 minutes preceding the starting signal of a regatta. The new model preserves the Luminor 1950’s 44- mm case, but its look is different due to its special, DLC (Diamond-Like-Carbon) coating, which gives the watch a black colour and more resistance to corrosion.

  • The Coldmaker

    ”The company needed the cleanup,” says Nicolae Bara, minority shareholder of Frigotehnica, explaining the reasons for the sale. In December 2008, the company, which was a market leader on the refrigeration market in Romania, was involved in one of the highestprofile transactions, when it was taken over by Balkan Accession Fund (BAF) investment fund. Nicolae Bara (55) has been working for Frigotehnica since 1979, when he graduated. He has left the company only once ever since, and that was for one year, when he decided to start his own business.

    ”In 1992, (when he was production manager i.e.), I started a business in the refrigeration industry, which I used to get back with Frigotehnica. I actually have never left the company, because my company was based 50 metres across the street from Frigotehnica. I didn’t even leave the area, just the yard for a bit.” Shortly after returning to Frigotehnica, its privatisation process started and was completed in 1995, when Bara became the shareholder and general manager of the group. ”In November 1994 I won the management contest at Frigotehnica (through the company I had set up in ‘92) and in June ‘95 I completed the privatisation process, with the entire red tape required by the legislation.”

    Bara’s stake increased to 38% in the meantime, after buying shares from the colleagues who wanted out of the business, he explains. In 1995, the year of privatisation, the company posted a 200,000 USD turnover, and 2008, the year of the sale to BAF, ended with revenues worth approximately 52 million euros (of which Frigotehnica contributed about 47 million euros). ”There have been stages and stages in the company’s history: it’s been a few years now since, as a result of the significant development of the major retail chains, commercial refrigeration started to prevail over industrial refrigeration (according to BAT, Frigotehnica accounts for 75% of the commercial refrigeration systems market and for 20% of the industrial segment i.e.),” Bara recalls, explaining how he moved the company that worked mainly with industrial to commercial clients; demand for commercial refrigeration started in 1996, when Metro opened its first store in Romania.

  • Lumea virtuala eRepublik atrage finantari de 2 mil. euro

    Fondul de investitii francez a realizat aceasta finantare prin intermediul unei majorari de capital, preluand astfel un pachet minoritar de actiuni nou emise special pentru a face posibila tranzactia, dupa ce, in luna iunie a anului trecut, a investit pentru prima data in eRepublik Labs, compania din spatele jocului, suma de 200.000 de euro in schimbul a 4% din actiuni. “Uneori investim chiar foarte timpuriu in companii exceptionale, iar eRepublik este una dintre ele, aceasta noua finantare confirmand pariul facut pe lumea viruala online”, spune Guillaume Lautour, partener in cadrul AGF Private Equity.

    Cele doua milioane vor fi folosite in totalitate pentru dezvoltarea din punct de vedere tehnic a proiectului demarat in urma cu aproape doi ani de antreprenorul George Lemnaru si sustiunt financiar de omul de afaceri francez Alexis Bonte, care pana acum a urmat o traiectorie mai putin traditionala de extindere, pornind de la un prototip asupra caruia au fost aduse pe parcurs imbunatatiri in functie de parerile jucatorilor, “|n prezent, jocul reprezinta numai 25% din ce va rezulta in urma acestei runde de investitii, care ne permite sa punem in practica si ideile proprii, pe langa cele adunate de la cetatenii din lumea virtuala”, spune Bonte, directorul executiv si proprietarul a 70% din eRepublik Labs.

    Simulatorul politic, economic si militar se afla deja la a treia runda de investitii, finantarea totala ridicandu-se la peste 2,75 de milioane de euro. Dupa investitia de 200.000 de euro facuta in 2007 de la omul de afaceri francez, in actionariatul eRepublik au intrat anul trecut AGF Private Equity si opt antreprenori si investitori de tip “business angel” – Brent Hoberman, Laurent Laffy, Philippe Seignol, Diego Meller, Veronique Marsot Seignol, Stefan Glaenzer si Alexandre Almajeanu si

    Mihai Crasneanu, doi romani stabiliti de mai multa vreme in Franta – cele doua parti platind impreuna 400.000 de euro pentru un total de 8% din actiuni. Tot anul trecut, Alexis Bonte si-a extins participatia cu trei procente, in schimbul a 150.000 de euro, jocul fiind evaluat pe baza acestor investitii la 5 milioane de euro. “Finantarea actuala a fost facuta pe baza unei evaluari mai mari decat cea initiala”, spune Bonte, fara a da detalii exacte despre valoarea curenta a jocului de strategie online sau despre numarul exact de procente intrate in proprietatea fondului de investitii francez.

    |n prezent, eRepublik numara peste 350.000 de cetateni virtuali, fiind accesat zilnic de 120.000 de oameni din peste 200 de tari din lume. Site-ul www.erepublik.com a contorizat peste 3,7 de milioane de vizite si 95 de milioane de afisari in luna mai a acestui an, jucatorii petrecand mai mult de 55 de milioane de minute in lumea virtuala eRepublik pe parcursul acestei luni.

  • Toshiba: Ne-am intors in timp cu doi ani – GALERIE FOTO

    La o saptamana dupa inche ierea cursei de Formula 1 Grand Prix, aflandu-ma la Monaco pentru o intalnire de afaceri, nu am putut sa nu observ ca oriunde te uitai, vedeai cate un Ferrari. Acolo nu pare sa fie criza, de vreme ce foarte multi isi permit inca sa cumpere masini atat de scumpe”, spune Alan Thompson, vicepresedinte executiv al Toshiba Computer Systems Europe, cu o urma de regret ca nu la fel stau lucrurile si in ce priveste vanzarile de computere. Acestea au crescut neincetat in ultimii ani, in ciuda pierderii de viteza a PC-urilor in favoarea laptopurilor, dar au de suferit acum in toata lumea de pe urma scaderii generale a consumului. Daca in tarile vest-europene inca mai sunt cresteri fata de inceputul anului trecut, Europa Centrala si de Est a incheiat primul trimestru din 2009 cu un minus de aproape 40% al vanzarilor de computere portabile, pana la 1,46 milioane de bucati, fata de 2,42 milioane in primele trei luni ale anului trecut, potrivit rezultatelor preliminare ale unui studiu realizat de compania de cercetare de piata IDC. Niciun producator de laptopuri nu a scapat neafectat de criza, cu exceptia Sony, care a vandut cu 26,4% mai multe computere in primul trimestru, comparativ cu perioada similara din 2008.

    “In Romania, una dintre cele mai mari piete din regiune ca populatie, ne-am intors in timp cu vreo doi ani, pentru ca vanzarile au ajuns la nivelul celor din 2007”, spune Andreas Schäfer, directorul de vanzari al Toshiba pentru pietele in curs de dezvoltare din Europa, Orientul Mijlociu si Africa (EMEA), intr-o discutie cu BUSINESS Magazin. Ce-i drept, Romania este una dintre tarile cu cea mai mare scadere a vanzarilor de computere portabile din regiune, dupa Lituania, Letonia sau Rusia, unde declinul a ajuns la 60%. In primele trei luni ale anului, in Romania au fost comercializate in jur de 61.000 de laptopuri, cu 50% mai putin decat acum un an, cand s-au cumparat circa 123.000 de computere portabile, conform rezultatelor preliminare ale studiului IDC. Cel mai afectat producator a fost Dell, care, de la peste 17.000 de laptopuri vandute la inceputul anului trecut, a coborat pana la putin sub 2.000.

    “Unul dintre principalii factori negativi a fost deprecierea leului in raport cu euro, situatie in care a trebuit sa mentinem preturile in lei, desi aceasta insemna scaderea pretului final in euro”, sustine Schäfer. Directorul Toshiba adauga si ca producatorii isi planifica productia cu cel putin un trimestru inainte, dar in septembrie anul trecut putini au putut prezice regresul din 2009, ceea ce a dus la un exces de stocuri si a impins implicit comerciantii sa reduca din preturi.

    Asadar, Andreas Schäfer nu mai spera sa obtina aceleasi rezultate ca anul trecut in Romania, cand au fost vandute 64.500 de computere portabile, ceea ce, la un pret mediu de 700 de euro, a insemnat incasari mai mari de 45 de milioane de euro. Exista insa o serie de planuri prin care producatorul are in plan sa castige cota dintr-o piata ce anul trecut, inainte de criza, aproape ca a devansat Grecia in socotelile japonezilor. Primul pas a fost deja facut – Toshiba l-a angajat pe Lucian Condruz, fost product manager la eMag, in functia de consultant si coordonator al activitatilor viitoare ale companiei in tara. “Momentan, producatorul este in negocieri cu mai multi distribuitori din Romania pentru a extinde canalele de distributie, dar nu a fost inca semnat niciun contract”, vorbeste Condruz despre decizia Toshiba de a-si desface produsele prin intermediul a doua companii, in conditiile in care numai Scop Computers livreaza in acest moment laptopurile Toshiba. Astfel, producatorul va imparti in mod egal activitatea intre distribuitori, strategie adoptata in majoritatea pietelor europene, cu exceptia Greciei si a Turciei, unde a ramas cu cate un singur distribuitor.

    Pe termen mediu, Toshiba are in plan sa-si deschida propriul birou in Romania, al doilea din Europa Centrala si de Est dupa Croatia, intentia companiei fiind sa coordoneze de aici activitatile din zona Balcanilor. Intr-o prima faza, Condruz va fi cel care se va ocupa de acest birou, urmand mai apoi sa fie angajati inca 2-3 oameni, pe masura ce afacerea se va fi extins. “Cel mai devreme vom avea entitate juridica in Romania la inceputul anului viitor”, spune Schäfer. Exista insa variabile: momentul depinde foarte mult de evolutia pietei si de climatul economic din regiune, ceea ce inseamna ca planurile ar putea fi oricand amanate, mai ales daca luam in calcul previziunile care spun ca vom reveni la crestere economica abia in 2011.

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