Multibrand stores boost Elmec turnover

Elmec Romania, the distributor of Nike brand domestically, expects to reach turnover worth around 50 million euros this year, up 18% year-on-year, mainly driven by ongoing market growth, which encouraged investments in new mall-type shopping centres and commercial galleries.
“Although retail holds the biggest weight in overall sales, over the past year we’ve seen the sales structure change, in the sense of a stepped-up increase in sales through multibrand stores. Moreover, it has been noticed that generally we are starting to increasingly turn into a consumer society and consumers are constantly diversifying their needs and expectations toward a product,” Andreea Vasile, marketing coordinator of the sports unit of Elmec Romania, told ZF.
Retail expansion in Romania has pushed the company to add on to its list of priorities between 5 and 10 stores by yearend, depending on the shopping centre projects finalised in Bucharest and countrywide.
“Investments per store can range between 50,000 and several hundred thousand euros, depending on the type of store, the buyers segment, store location or commercial area,” says Vasile.
The new stores will be added to the 40 stores Elmec Romania operates in Romania, of which over 20 are open in Bucharest. Choosing a location is a serious problem, especially “because of the rising real estate costs and the multitude of shopping centres that are due to open in the following years,” says Vasile.
Products sold by the company target a wide range of consumers, meaning that the high flow of visitors in malls is an important factor in selecting possible locations. Elmec distributes renowned international brands such as Nike, Calvin Klein, Pepe Jeans, Miss Sixty, Energie, Marlboro Classics or Polo Jeans by Ralph Lauren.
“The company is constantly in talks with owners of some well-known brands to represent them in Romania, meaning we’ll gradually expand the portfolio of brands we distribute in Romania. For the time being, we cannot disclose these names for confidentiality reasons,” explains Vasile.
The Greek group Elmec Sport owns Elmec Romania, a company with 600 employees. Domestically, on the segment of sports goods, it competes with Lotto, Adidas, Puma and Reebok.