Fornetti sells pastries totalling 17m euros in 2005

The widest franchised network in Romania (450 stores) estimates that it will make 26 million euros in turnover this year, an increase of 50% on 2005. The pastry company Fornetti Romania, which owns a factory in Timisoara, intends to expand its franchised store network by 250 locations this year, to a total of 700 shops throughout the entire country. “The investments made thus far allow us to boost our production capacity by 50% this year and expand our shop network,” stated Zoltan Panczel, Fornetti Romania general manager. Fornetti concluded 2005 with 17 million euros in turnover and the production of 13 million kilos of pastry (some 520 million pieces of pastry). One of its most important goals is to reach a balance between production capacity increases and the opening of new shops. At present, Fornetti Romania owns a franchised network of 450 shops, which it intends to expand by another 250 units. “We will mainly focus on major cities because they ensure profitability for the shops, but we will not stay out of the smaller cities either, which will account for 15-20% of the total shops opened,” Panczel added. The expansion of the network is done based on market surveys, where social and demographic factors play a decisive role, Fornetti”s officials say. A Fornetti shop takes up 10-20 square metres. Fornetti officials say the smaller cities are still clinging on to their specific eating habits and consumers would have a hard time getting used to their products. ZF