The shareholders of the milling and bakery company Boromir Ind Ramnicu Valcea plan to invest 2.5 million euros in retail this year by opening supermarkets in Buzau and Ramnicu Valcea, both branded as Avantaj. “We decided to tap into this business because the money stays in the cash register, you don”t run into problems with clients and, moreover, it has already become fashionable among Romanians to do their shopping in supermarkets. On the other hand, it is hard to swim against the stream when a large number of companies are also investing in this sector,” said Constantin Boromiz, chairman and one of the five shareholders in Boromir Ind.
Avantaj supermarkets cover 1,000-1,500 square metres and focus on selling consumer goods. Boromiz added that he plans to open at least 10 stores over the next five years close to or within the cities where his company has production facilities. “Retail businesses developed by local entrepreneurs have turned out to be a success: Florentin Banu managed to sell the Artima chain for a good price, while Razvan Petrovici is doing well, seeing as he”s opening new Univers”all stores. The major retail chains are investing extensively in new stores. The market is also pushing me to do this, as well as the fact that major retail chains are driving hard bargains with producers in the food industry, and elsewhere.” He does not rule out the possibility of entering other segments of the food industry to support sales by the company”s supermarkets.
Boromir Ind reported a 75 million-euro turnover for last year, an increase of at least 25 million euros on 2003 following expansion of some of its production facilities, its product range and the acquisition of pasta maker ProPasta Iasi.
The Boromir Group owns bakeries in Buzau, Valcea, Sibiu, Deva and Medias. The group also owns the Cibin mill in Sibiu, two Comcereal-type facilities (grain storage providers), the Amylon Sibiu and Extrasib Sibiu companies, and 27 small shops in the cities where it has bakeries. Boromir also makes flour, for which it has 10% market share at national level, bread, pasta and pastry.