Leonardo resolves cash flow problem by selling cheap shoes

Leonardo, the biggest Romanian footwear and leather products retailer, which filed for insolvency at the end of last year in order to reschedule its 100 million-euro debt to suppliers and banks, has announced it is now “up to date” with payments thanks to its lower-price strategy implemented over the last six months. “The strategy to place products on the medium-low segment has worked. Now Leonardo sells 200,000 euros’ worth of products a day, and the business has stabilised,” said Radu Lotrean, managing partner at Casa de Insolventa Transilvania (Transilvania Insolvency Firm), in charge of the retailer’s judicial reorganisation.
Leonardo, held by Oradea-based Florin Panea, has been selling products whose prices did not exceed 30 euros since November. At an average price of 20 euros, 10,000 products are sold daily in the 137 stores held on the Romanian market. This means sales will amount to at least 73 million euros this year. Last year the company announced a 100 million-euro turnover, down by around 35% against the previous year.