150,000 euros - this is the investment required to build a national door business, which operates at a 15-30% profit margin. Besides this level of investment, an international certificate is required to sell the products and the patience to wait up to three-four years for the business to become profitable.
"We started the business in 2001, with no expertise in this field, but we received specialty training from the German firm we import doors from," states Huian Iulian, sales representative with Euro House Intertrade, the sole distributor of Grauthoff in Bucharest.
The first step of was to find a door supplier and stockpile products, and as the offers came to include over 1,000 models of doors, they had to bring the majority in on order. At present, the best-selling doors prove to be cellular doors and crystal doors. The firm tried to cover the entire range of interior doors available, a total of over 240 models, and also the range of exterior doors including metallic doors. Prices range between 155 and 1,500 euros, with the firm's profit standing at 15 to 30%.
The company sells its products in the two stores it owns in Bucharest and plans to expand to other major cities and counties in Romania. In 2006, the company's turnover stood at 500,000 euros, up 15% against 2005. The increase was generated by investments in advertising and sales assistants' specialisation.
Huian says handling such a business takes a lot of patience and dedication, as the business requires time to develop.
In the case of the company Prum-Casa, after observing the shortage and poor quality of doors sold domestically, Daniel Badulescu, general manager of Prum-Casa, decided to sell doors imported from Germany. "(...) Initial investments, which were recouped within three months, amounted to around 10,000 euros and were used to acquire a warehouse and the initial freight stock," Badulescu states. The company then attempted to increase its stock, by making investments in warehouses and showrooms, and also advertised on billboards and in newspapers.
The company's main clients are construction firms and architects in Romania and the EU, who are familiar with the products. The turnover posted in 2005 and 2006 registered a significant growth of over 300,000 RON.
Additionally the Druta family has also decided to invest in the door retail market because of the rising demand for products, and due to the small number of domestic producers of PVC panels.
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