Having had enough of politics, Viorel Cataramă, one of thebest-known and oldest members of the National Liberal Party, saysit is now time to dedicate himself to his personal life, and thathis nearly 100 million-euro business Elvila is enough for him.Cataramă, 55, is one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in thefurniture industry, whose name is identified with the furnituremarket, as is Dan Şucu, the Mobexpert owner.
After over two years during which he preferred to keep a lowprofile, Cataramă has talked in an interview given to ZiarulFinanciar about his plans: exports, opening new stores, andimproving profit margins in 2012.
"I made the mistake of getting involved in politics in the past 20years, but I lost money and came to the conclusion that I need totake care of my life, as well, and that a business the size ofElvila is enough," the businessman says. In March this year,Cataramă was excluded from the PNL (National Liberal Party).
In the past, Cataramă also invested in the banking sector, where hefounded and then sold Libra Bank. Asked if he would be willing toinvest in the banking sector again, he said he would not, althoughmany businesspeople are pursuing this at present.
Cataramă identified the potential of exports and plans to export40-45% of production, benefiting from the RON depreciation. Exportsare in fact his main focus.
The low-price segment targeted by Elvila has been the leastaffected in the furniture industry, while retailers ofmedium-priced and premium furniture have been seriously hurt by thepurchasing power decline. Cataramă believes discounted productssell best at present, but that it is time to resume expansionbecause costs are down, to levels unimaginable a few yearsago.
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