Furniture manufacturer and retailer Mobexpert expects turnover to rise by 10% this year, while the market is estimated to grow by 7-8%.
"We manufactured increasingly more furniture in Romania and we cut down on imports so as to be able to supply to the regional market," Dan Sucu, Mobexpert president and main shareholder, told ZF.
Sucu estimates Mobexpert's turnover will rise by 10% this year, while the market's average growth will stand at 7-8%.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, the furniture industry was the most active segment this year, with production rising by 23% in real terms, over the first nine months.
The surge in production may seem surprising, considering that last year the local furniture industry was facing its most difficult period in recent years.
Given the rising prices for utilities and the RON appreciation, many manufacturers produced less and redirected their output towards the domestic market.
The domestic currency's appreciation against the euro accounted for a reduction in manufacturers' revenues, therefore they decided to produce more for the domestic market and to reduce exports, which had become less profitable. Actually, this trend seems likely to continue this year as well.
"The surge in Mobexpert's production could only cover our retail necessities," says Sucu, mentioning that the statistics related to furniture production may be distorted by the addition of certain semi-finished and intermediary products. While the furniture production, as shown by statistics, rose by 23% in real terms over the first nine months, the exports operated by the local manufacturers grew by less than 6%. The value of exported furniture amounted to 850 million euros over the first three quarters, up from the 808 million euros posted over the corresponding period of last year.
In contrast, the furniture imports on the local market rose by 30% over the quoted period, from 377 million euros in 2005 to 487 million euros this year.
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