Cataramă raises wages for the first time since onset of crisis

Businessman Viorel Cataramă, who controls furniture industry business Elvila, says this year he raised wages at his factories for the first time since the crisis began, and is set to do the same for the stores in the second part of the year.

The Elvila group, which comprises three factories and 57 stores, has less than 2,000 employees, with the most extensive stage of the restructuring taking place in 2009, when the businessman let 500 employees go. The company plans to open six stores this year, having allocated more than 0.5 million euros per each store, a self-funded investment.
"I think the market will not continue to fare this poorly for 25 years," says Cataramă, who expects the industry to recover in September, but more visibly next year. However, in the first two months of the year, the market fell by over 10%, the lowest level reached this century."

Elvila last year posted an over 100 million-euro turnover last year, up 5% on 2009, and has budgeted a similar growth for this year.