Asesoft's plans for Flanco

“We want to replicate the eMag scenario with Flanco,” said Iulian Stanciu, co-owner of the Asesoft group after the announcement that it had taken over the insolvent home appliances store chain.
In short, this would amount to a rapid return to growth for the retailer’s annual sales, after they fell by 60% in 2009, sealing partnerships with new suppliers and a return to profit in order to cover previous losses.
Home appliances and electronics retail is the only retail segment that has been consolidated during the crisis through the moves of local entrepreneurs, not of multinationals. Whilst in food and fashion retail, the “sharks” have so far been foreign store chains that swallowed businesses built by local investors, in home appliances and IT retail, the entrepreneur model still dominates the ranking.
Sebastian Ghiță and Iulian Stanciu, two young entrepreneurs who went into business around 10 years ago through collaborations with the state, are the most active entrepreneurs in retail in this time of crisis.
They acquired the majority stake in eMag retailer in 2009, took over the distribution division of the Flamingo group, Flanco’s former owner in the same year, and have recently announced the takeover of 60% in insolvent store chain Flanco.
“In 2011 we will reach half a billion euros in turnover. After Flanco’s takeover we are the biggest buyer on the market, which allows us to have lower shelf prices,” said Stanciu, going over the advantages of buying the insolvent chain. He added that there were no plans for a merger of the three major companies in the group – Asesoft Distribution, eMag, and Flanco.