Loulis Romania plans expansion

The chairman of bakery company Loulis Romania intends to start expanding the store network this year, although no new Loulis stores were opened in the past five years.

“Last year, we started a rebranding process for the Family store network, which became Belforno Fresh. The target for 2005 was to renovate and re-launch existing stores. In the first half of this year, we will optimise the store network and then take the first steps towards network enlargement,” said Nikolaos Voudouris, chairman of Loulis, one of the biggest players on the milling and bakery market.

Voudouris outlined that no expansion decision had been made, but said he knew that the new stores would be located only in Bucharest. “We will try to focus on the Bucharest market, as it is growing at a solid pace and, in terms of logistics and costs, it is much easier for us to develop here rather than go to other cities,” Voudouris also said. The rebranding process began last spring, and, by the end of 2005, 20 of the 28 stores had been rebranded. The stores were taken over in 1999, following the acquisition of bakery company Titan. “By April, we will complete the rebranding process for the remaining eight stores in Bucharest, as well,” Loulis Romania”s official stated.

According to Voudouris, the process cost more than 150,000 euros, but tapped into all of the company”s own resources.

“The decision to change and strengthen the brand has triggered the involvement of the entire management team,” Voudouris said.

The company official also specified that the idea of the new name came from the chairman of the Greek group himself. “Each of us subsequently took part in formulating the necessary steps and it took us a week to come up with the unitary concept we are now promoting,” he stated.

Loulis Romania”s chairman said that the Family brand had not benefited from strong promotion, as the company”s resources had been focused on Belforno, the brand the company owns on the bakery segment.

“Our core activity is bakery, and the Belforno brand witnessed sustained growth last year. We felt that, by creating these synergies, we could have a deeper impact on the market,” Nikolaos Voudouris said.

Optimisation of expenses was another important advantage eyed by the Loulis managers, for marketing activities. “We will do this together and promote a single brand,” says Voudouris.

In his opinion, the entire process will certainly help turn Belforno into a powerful brand on the domestic market.

“Consumers want a district bakery, where they should find fresh products, but one has to give them reasons to choose such a store instead of a supermarket, where the product portfolio is more diverse,” considers Voudouris. According to Voudouris, in order to gain customer loyalty, a company must develop a strong name and concept.