A "star" among the Central and Eastern European satellites of the American company Kraft Foods International until recently, due to its high sales volume, Kraft Foods Romania (KFRo) failed to post the usual good results last year, though.
KFRo holds several brands in Romania, such as Poiana (chocolate), Jacobs, Alintaroma or Nova Brasilia (coffee).
Kraft Foods Romania is the only branch highlighted in the company's annual report as having seen turnover shrink in 2002, except for Kraft's German subsidiary.
The representatives of the Romanian branch did not care to comment on the extent of the decline, as neither did they state the causes. "No comment." This was the answer of HR manager Dorin Grigorescu.
From its 1994 establishment onwards the company has posted increases in sales on a yearly basis and was soon to position itself as the second largest outlet of the parent company in CEE (1995).
KFRo then showed it was true to its emerging markets company status and logged 22% and 17% growth in 2000 and 2001, when sales totalled $56.6 million.
The report mentions that as far as coffee is concerned, the acquisition of the Nova Brasilia brands a year ago did result in a sales boost but things were not the same for the sales of sweets.
"The sweets sales volume was tempered by the decline in Germany, as a reflection of the competitive environment, as well as by the drop in the purchasing power in Romania," the company report shows.
Still, statistics on the Romanian market contradict the report: net December/December average salary went up 23% in 2002 compared with 2001, from 3.65 million ROL to 4.52 million ROL. If taking a 17.8% average inflationary rate, the increase was of only 5% in ROL. The increase in USD was 15% from $116 to $134.
A more probable cause is a fiercer competition - as in the case of Germany, mentioned in the company report, that impacted on all the sectors where Kraft operates. The sweets segment witnessed a most fierce competition largely due to advertising spending.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
