Cataramă, Elvila: Costs are minimal now, so it's time for investments
Businessman Viorel Cataramă, one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in the furniture industry, who controls the Elvila business, is planning to expand the store network this year, having signed rental contracts for four certain locations, and is in negotiations for another two stores.
In March Elvila opened a 6,000 square-metre store in Bacău, in June it will open one in Focşani (4,000 square metres), in Deva in October (4,000 square metres) and in Craiova in November (3,500 square metres). The company is in advanced negotiations to open stores in Sibiu (3,000 square metres) and in Timişoara. In Timişoara, the store developed together with Altex, is set to cover 7,000 square metres and will be built by the company itself.
"A store needs a stock of merchandise worth 400,000 to 500,000 euros and needs another 100,000 euros to furnish the store, so the costs amount to at least half a million euros. We are funding this expansion using our own resources," added Cataramă. He estimates costs are half of what they used to be in the years of economic boom.