Murfatlar, a major wine producer domestically, is entering retail by opening its own wine cellars and estimates it will have “several hundred” such locations nationwide in the next two or three years.
Murfatlar is the first wine industry producer announcing
aggressive retail expansion plans.
“All the cellars will look the same, will have the same shelf
prices, the same communication. The best locations are those very
close to consumers,” Daniel Negrescu, Murfatlar brand manager, told
ZF.
The cellars are developed through some partnerships with domestic
investors, a model close to the franchise one, in which Murfatlar
comes up with the brand, the know-how, the products, marketing
investments, commercial policy and partners with the space, which
can be rented or owned, and its fitting out.
The opening of a cellar amounts to 10-15,000 euros.
Asked why the producer decided to launch its own cellars, Negrescu
said that “starting last year market opportunities emerged in the
wake of changing consumption habits during the crisis,
opportunities which we’re trying to speculate”.