How an assistant lecturer racked up 135m-euro turnover from cigarette and confectionery distribution

Simba Invest company, the fifth biggest consumer goods distributor domestically, has budgeted 25% higher turnover this year, to 160-170m euros, on the basis of the newly gained contracts with Kraft Foods and Philip Morris.
The business, which two entrepreneurs of Bacău, Sorin Gavrilă and Cristinel Lungu started in 1997 in the wake of investments of a few tens of thousand dollars, last year reached 135m-euro turnover and income worth almost 4m euros, whereas the consumer goods market contracted by 8-10% amid the plunging purchasing power.
With over 400 employees, the company has 23 outlets in 22 counties and over 6,000 clients. "(...) We plan to hire further to the extent to which we manage to boost our current portfolio or expand our coverage area," says Sorin Gavrilă, who worked as an assistant lecturer at the electrical engineering department of Bacău University before starting the distribution business.
In late 2009, Simba Invest increased the number of outlets for Philip Morris from 10 to 22 and has this year expanded collaboration with Kraft Foods in Iaşi and Vaslui counties.