Şucu and Cataramă on furniture market: slow start of the year

2011 started off on the wrong foot for Mobexpert and Elvila, the strongest Romanian retailers in the furniture industry, with January failing to bring the hoped-for sales.
"The beginning of the year is not looking very good. The declines are of around 6%, which is alarming because this comes after a December that was several percent better than December 2009," said businessman Dan Şucu, Mobexpert owner. The company operates a chain of 32 stores and hypermarkets, with one sizeable store located in Sofia (Bulgaria).
On the other hand, Elvila, controlled by Viorel Cataramă, says sales in his store chain are similar to those recorded the same time last year.
"Sales are the same as last year. For the full 2011 we have budgeted similar sales to those recorded in 2010," said Cataramă. Elvila operates more than 50 stores, and had budgeted a 102 million-euro turnover for 2010, up 5% on 2009.