Mondostar doubles investments in its stores

Sibiu-based textile manufacturer Mondostar doubled the number of stores it intends to open by the end of the year, from 5 to 10. “The Romanian real estate market sometimes behaves in very strange ways. For example, the store we opened in Timisoara had us looking for a location for several months, while this year, we opened three stores in three months,” stated Mircea Vasiu, brand manager of Mondostar. According to him, the value of the investment will remain the same and will stand at some 300,000 euros. We currently have stores in Timisoara, Arad, Iasi and Sibiu, with one in Bucharest to be opened in May. Other stores will follow in Galati, Brasov, Ploiesti, Suceava and Craiova in the next few months. Company officials estimate a turnover worth over 6.2 million euros for this year, a 20% increase against 2005. “The drive behind this growth is the expansion of our business with our own brands, although it is very difficult for a firm to impose its own brand on a market invaded by Chinese products,” Mircea Vasiu added. The Sibiu-based textile manufacturer also intends to penetrate the foreign market with one of its own brands – Boulevard, starting this year. “We are already in advanced talks with companies both from Western countries and from Russia,” Mircea Vasiu added. ZF