Cornel Oprisan, retail manager with IKEA Romania, says the Swedish group is considering opening its second outlet on the Romanian market, after having invested 10 million euros in the construction of the first location, in Bucharest.
"IKEA representatives would be most willing to take the next step in Romania. And that is because we think we have a bigger market to saturate. We start with Bucharest and we are thinking of applying the expertise we get in Bucharest to the other regions," says Cornel Oprisan.
In an interview with ZF, Oprisan spoke about the first steps the world's biggest furniture retailer has taken in Romania and about its plans related to the Romanian market.
"IKEA always looks at interesting markets. At the same time, though, it also researches the maturity of those markets and whether there are attractive elements. Which is why it started exploring the Romanian market early in 2004," Cornel Oprisan recalls. Nonetheless, the decision to build an outlet in Romania was made in 2005. Oprisan was the first employee of the Swedish in Romania and the first decision he made was to start building a team. "IKEA came to Romania doing research, knowing businessmen who knew other businessmen, through Turcmall (one of the stakeholders in Moaro Trading, the company operating IKEA franchise i.e.). I received the proposal to take over the feasibility studies for the business itself," IKEA official confesses.
IKEA team will include 400 people by next spring, when the outlet of Baneasa is to be opened.
"We looked at 6 features we named PAKSAC (Personality, Attitude, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Charisma). Having a 60 years' expertise, you may think it is easy to train people. But you must primarily see if they have the necessary personality and attitude. Knowledge counts more or less. The rest can be achieved," says IKEA representative.
Meanwhile, there was information in the press about the Swedish company's entrance on the Romanian market over the next years. The "secret" has been kept until recently, when IKEA representatives have gone public about their plans for the first time. Whereas the date when the Swedish retailer was going to open its outlet was uncertain, location was clearly known, namely the Baneasa project, in northern Bucharest. The next element to be settled was the size of the outlet. The Romanian outlet is a standard IKEA store, of between 24,000 and 28,000 square metres.
The Swedish giant entered the Romanian market relatively late compared with the other neighbouring states.
"As a rule, IKEA has several outlets in a country. This, however, depends on the market it targets, the number of inhabitants and what the respective market has to offer," says Oprisan.
IKEA in Romania
Started exploring the Romanian market in the early 2004
The decision to open an outlet in Romania was made in 2005
It entered the Romanian market relatively late compared with neighbouring markets
IKEA team will reach 400 employees by next spring, when the outlet of Baneasa opens
The outlet in Romania is a standard IKEA outlet, of 24-28,000 square metres
The decision to open a new outlet is made after assessing the performance of the first one
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