Liviu Facaleata, general manager of the Pic Group, which is involved in manufacturing, trade and services, says the sales process is more important and more difficult than manufacturing.
"To sell you have to be convincing. There's no point in producing if you can't sell the merchandise on the market," Liviu Facaleata says.
When the group started its food production business in 2000, it also decided to develop the distribution system, in order to handle a larger volume of merchandise. The Pic group also continued distributing other products made by various companies, but the main criterion in choosing partners was to avoid products that competed with their own.
"We cannot distribute our products and those that compete with them at the same time," says Liviu Facaleata.
Avoiding competition is no longer possible for the Pic hypermarket in Pitesti, opened in 2004, as the group is pursuing a strategy of diversifying the product supply for all categories.
The Pic hypermarket is currently selling approximately 40,000 products, from over 600 suppliers. The store takes up an estimated 7,000 square metres.
Pic set out to build its own 8-strong hypermarket chain by 2010, which is part of the group's natural development, Liviu Facaleata explains.
"At first we intended to become the biggest group in Arges County. Now that we've done this, we are looking at the entire country. The retail market is very promising and will develop a lot in the future. Consumer attitude is changing, as consumers now prefer to do their shopping in larger stores," he says.
The current retail market in Romania is highly competitive, dominated by international groups such as Carrefour, Cora and Metro AG, which have plans to expand to the rest of the country after having settled comfortably on the Capital market.
"Being involved in trade since 1991 has helped us to acquire a very good understanding of the market and consumer behaviour. This will be a great help to us in competing with the international hypermarket chains operating in Romania," comments Liviu Facaleata.
The Pic Group's boss adds that he is trying to create opportunities for his employees that are similar to those provided by the international groups on the market. "When we set the wages in the hypermarket, we take into account the wages that our competitors pay to their employees," Liviu Facaleata said.
Ten managers from the hypermarket in Pitesti will be promoted and sent to Craiova, in order to develop the new outlet. "We are not reinventing the wheel, the hypermarket concept is a formula that was developed abroad a long time ago, so it is only natural that we should draw inspiration from it," adds Liviu Facaleata.
A 100% Romanian story
The business of the Pic Group is valued at over 50m euros and employs 1,200 people
Was established by the Penescu brothers in 1991, starting with three employees, among which Liviu Facaleata
The group comprises of Pic hypermarket, Pic Constructii, Pic Distributie, a local taxi company, a freight transport company, a vegetable oil factory, a rice and pearl barley factory, sugar packaging lines, a publishing house and a printing company
Has not sold any of its companies thus far
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
