Fornetti receives 900 franchise applications

Fornetti, Timisoara-based patisserie producer and the largest franchise network on the domestic market, in the first half of this year saw its turnover advance by 12.5%, to 15m euros. Fornetti representatives announced the company would operate more than 650 stores across the country by the yearend. For the current year, company representatives forecast a turnover worth 28m euros, against 22.5m euros (77.6m RON) in 2006. Last year, the company reported a net income worth above 3.4m euros (12.3m RON). At present, Fornetti Romania has 597 stores. In Transylvania, Fornetti has 85 stores and 14 in Cluj. “This year alone, we’ve received over 900 collaboration applications, but criteria related to the granting of a franchise, production factors and transportation capacities have made us envisage a rational, realistic development,” stated Ioan Magheti, a company representative. The company this year plans to finalise a new warehouse in Bragadiru, near Bucharest, as well as the construction of a microbiological and physical-chemical investigations lab. According to company representatives, Fornetti Romania accounts for over 60% of the market of frozen pastries. In 2006, Fornetti stores sold around 15,700 tonnes of pastries, up 22% year-on-year.