Elgeka relinquishes construction materials business

Elgeka-Ferfelis, a major domestic consumer goods distributor, has decided to give up the construction materials distribution business – Cera Villa Design, around three years after the company was created.
According to information published by Greek group Elgeka, the company transferred the 70% stake it held in Cera Villa Design Romanian firm to a company that manages the real estate assets of the group in Romania, Gatedoor Holdings.
“This transfer was meant to allow the group to focus more on its core operations in Romania,” reads a report by Elgeka, which also specifies that the group targets profits from the exploitation of the real estate portfolio it owns on the domestic market this year.
Cera Villa Design, which specialises in the import and distribution of wall and floor ceramic tiles and sanitary ware, generated turnover worth almost 2.3m euros in 2006, according to Finance Ministry data.
The representatives of Elgeka-Ferfelis Romania could not be contacted in time to comment.
Consumer goods distribution is Elgeka’s core activity domestically, with Elgeka-Ferfelis having partners such as Cream Line, Kimberly-Clark and Podravka.
Last year, Elgeka-Ferfelis opened a subsidiary in the Republic of Moldova, after it set up a distribution firm in Bulgaria in 2006. In Romania, Elgeka also owns Everest fast-food outlet in the centre of Bucharest.
Elgeka-Ferfelis Romania reported turnover worth around 57.2m euros in 2007, up 6.8% year-on-year. “Turnover rose after we sealed the partnership with Kimberly-Clark for the distribution of its products nationwide,” reads Elgeka report. Last year, the company saw its income drop to 0.3m euros, from 2.7m euros in 2006, according to Elgeka data.
Domestically, the biggest consumer goods distributors also include Interbrands Marketing & Distribution, Top Brands Distribution, Astral Impex and Aquila Group.
The ten biggest consumer goods (FMCG) distributors last year generated overall turnover worth around 2bn euros, and registered an average sales increase in RON of around 20% in 2006. Half of this sum was derived by Interbrands, the biggest player on the market. An almost identical growth rate in terms of value (19.5%) was estimated last year by MEMRB Retail Tracking Services market research firm for the entire FMCG sector.