The French fall for Romanian rustic furniture

Mobilux, a furniture-making company held by France-based Parisot Group, exports its entire output to France, accounting for one tenth of the total furniture export to this country.

The French bought $77 million in Romanian furniture in 2000, according to data released by the Association of Furniture Makers in Romania.

“The company deals in production of traditional Romanian wooden furniture, that is rustic furniture, mainly commode tables for audio and video equipment. We have recently begun making larger pieces of rustic furniture,” Miorica Boteanu, Mobilux deputy general manager, told Ziarul Financiar.

Mobilux in H1 this year registered some 101bn lei in turnover ($4.5 million), up 48% compared with the same time last year, Boteanu said.

Mobilux in 2000 made more than 126bn lei in turnover, but did not make any profit, due to the negative trend of the exchange rate as receipts are collected at the French franc exchange rate, according to Boteanu.

Production is financed by the company itself and is exported entirely to France, where the Parisot Group sells the furniture.

“Our production is fully financed by Parisot. We are working by order and make any kind of furniture they tell us to. The projects and the furniture design are sent to us from France, because they are the ones in close contact with the French market and know exactly what sells. We only have to provide what they ask for,” Boteanu mentioned.

The company has 9.6 million French francs (7.5 French francs – 1 US dollar) scheduled for investments this year, with more than 6 million French francs already invested. The French group has invested over 9 million French francs a year ever since it took over the controlling interests back in 1996.

“We have recently taken down a productive facility to build a new hall. The company is very old, established back in the days of the old Romanian capitalism, so that it needs constant retooling, restructuring, modernisation and organisation. The retooling plan to be carried out by 2005 targets environmental investments, acquisitions and improving the working conditions for the employees,” Boteanu mentioned.

“Mobilux operates on the location of the former Tricorache Gheorghe Ion Company (several workshops) that used to process lumber,” Boteanu says.

“Early in 1949, the workshops were nationalised and named (People’s Furniture), which made wooden end-products. In 1974, the name of the company was changed into Intreprinderea de casete Radio si Televizoare Bucuresti (Bucharest Radio and TV cassettes Enterprise). After 1989 it turned into a trading company and changed its name again into the current one. It was partially privatised by MEBO (management employees buy-out, that is employees and management taking over stock -i.e.),” Boteanu added.

The company has recently completed the capital increase, which went up to nearly 33.5bn lei from 30bn lei. The operation was carried out through the exertion of pre-emption right between 2000-2001.