Henkel Romania posts sales of 36m euros

Henkel Romania, a subsidiary of Henkel Central Eastern Europe (HCEE), registered about 36.2 million euros in turnover last year, up 15.6% against 1999, when sales were worth 31.3 million euros. “However, Romania ranked last in Europe as for Henkel products consumption,” Liviu Sfrija, Henkel Romania general manager, told Ziarul Financiar.

The company trades in Romania the most important Henkel detergent and cosmetics brands.

Pur detergent is a market leader in this segment, last year having registered a 52% share of the liquid detergents market, company representatives said, quoting MERMB, a market research company. The company holds a 14% share on the powder detergent market.

“Henkel Romania also has a good position on the cosmetics market, but we are still not happy with the results. We are going to deal with the positioning of our products on the market in 2001.

Fa brand, a market leader, had a 13% share on the deodorant market, 15.6% on the soap market and 20% for the shower gel. As for the hair-dressing products, Taft is a market leader with a 30% share,” Sfrija said.

Among the company’s best-selling products, there are Rex and Schauma. The products traded in Romania are manufactured in Slovenia, Poland, Germany and Belgium, while the detergents are imported from Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and France.

Henkel Romania was established in 1994 and now has 14 agencies throughout the country and 250 employees. The distribution network is wide, covering about 98% of the country.

“Distribution is deemed as a very important aspect of our business and consequently we focus on it,” Sfrija explained.

Henkel Romania has a share capital of 22.7 million euros. Henkel Bautechnik is a joint venture in which HCEE holds a 65% stake and was established in Romania together with a local partner.