Romanian Dailyhttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490fresh business news about Romaniahttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat604902010-07-30T01:06:16+00:00Romanian DailyenAkrom Akal lays off half of personnelhttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art2479543210/
The company's purpose as of the second half of 2005 through 2006 has been to
make a profit and to achieve the operating income we have budgeted,"
explains Altay. Akrom Akal ended last year with 490 employees, a 47% drop
against the 2004 figure. The move is contrary to the general trend of the
market, as most players in the field are hit by a severe lack of qualified
workers. The company currently has 480 employees and will settle at around
600 people by the end of the year.
source ]]>2006-07-21T05:21:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraCometex S.A. Suceava Takes Over Nada Florilor Altex S.A. Piatra Neamthttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art2008789139/ source ]]>2006-07-20T07:08:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraTinaR To Open 10 New Stores By End-2007http://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art6452652336/
TinaR was established in 1996 with Romanian capital and has so far invested
over 50 million EUR in business development, including an Oracle JD Edwards
PeopleSoft ERP platform, intensive marketing studies, branding and
expansion. The expansion strategy has so far included the opening of more
stores in Romania and of an office in Hong Kong. An Istanbul office will
open by the end of this year.
TinaR concluded last year with 12 million RON in turnover and 1 million RON
in profit. In the reporting period, the company opened three new stores, one
in Bucharest City Mall, one in Iulius Mall - Timisoara and one in
Brasov.
source ]]>2006-07-19T07:54:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandra5% of Braiconf change ownerhttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art7827814571/
Braiconf shares have rebounded and have come under the spotlight of the
market in the last few weeks, after being at the periphery due to poor
results, mainly because of Asian competition and the appreciation of the
RON.
source ]]>2006-07-19T07:49:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraRomanian textile industry is likely to find itself abandoned from Asiahttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art8418677908/
Romania textile industry which used to be highly appealing for European
fashion houses owing to its cheap labor force and low-price raw material
will soon find itself abandoned from Asia.
Textiles account for 10% in 2006's GDP. In 2010, the textile industry is
likely to shrink by 25% compared to 2006. It will reach 7.5 billion euros
in 2010, two billion euros lower than 2006 as the number of textile
industry will be reduced to almost halve, as domestic companies will
reposition so as not to directly compete with Asian products.
Romania Textile companies such as Zara, Christian Lacroix, Escada, Lacoste,
Sonya Rykiel, Dolce and Gabbana or H and M have contracted out production.
The outsourcing segment is highly unpredictable at the moment; as market
estimation depends on it. As the result, plants working under contract will
be the hardest hit and the Romanian market will see the contracting out
system vanish by 2010
Romanian players will only share the medium and the luxury segments of the
market. The market segment made up of low-quality products will be clearly
dominated by Asia
It is estimated that many plants is likely to close down in 2007,
influenced by the negative factors of the domestic market. Only those
investing and holding high-productivity machinery will survive.
source
]]>2006-07-15T17:30:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraIasitex bets on expansion of production facilities and personnelhttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art8412540823/
Gheorghe Caescu, 52, has been running Iasitex since March 2006, filling both
the position of general manager and that of chairman of the board. Iasitex,
part of the Serviciile Comerciale Romane (SCR) group, controlled by
businessman Stefan Vuza, has invested around 6m euros over the past 3 years,
mainly to retool production facilities.
"To survive on the textile market, one has to have a high level of
productivity, in order to sustain both costs and prices at a low level.
Salaries in Romania will rise amid EU integration, so we must do something
to keep costs flat and salary raises in balance," says Caescu. Two years ago
the company acquired the assets of the Pitesti-based Novatex company, which
owned a textile plant. The firm, which produces cotton and cotton-like
fabrics, now operates under the name of Nova Textile and has Iasitex as its
sole shareholder. As a result of this change, Iasitex has almost doubled its
production capacity. The two companies have a total number of employees of
around 2,500.
Iasitex is the biggest textile distributor for the Swedish giant Ikea, with
production facilities and retail outlets throughout South-Eastern Europe,
except Turkey. Around 85% of the company's production is exported to
countries in Western Europe, the United States and even Asia. Caescu
believes that Iasitex is the biggest producer of cotton and cotton-type
fabric in Romania and even in the region (Turkish market not considered).
Iasitex this year budgeted turnover worth over 20m euros. Company
representatives expect the profitability rate to revolve around 10% this
year, which would mean a minimum income of 2m euros for the Iasi-based
producer. The company posted turnover worth 17.5m euros last year, while
profit stood at 0.6m euros.
The company's main shareholders are A2 Impex (with a stake of 59.84%) and
SIF Moldova, with a 31.52% stake.
Caescu manages the textile unit of SCR and estimates this produces more than
70% of the total volume of cotton and cotton-type fabric in Romania.
According to Caescu, the Romanian textile industry players will have to
reposition themselves in order to get the portion of the market that is not
already covered by Asia, to ensure survival in the long term. The textile
market has recently been estimated at around 9.5bn euros, but industry
players expect the market to register a decline by around 2 billion euros by
2010.
Romania's biggest textile producers include Rosko Textil, Rifil Savinesti
and Akrom Akal Textiles of Suceava.
Iasitex
One of the top ten producers in the domestic textile industry
Banks on the expansion of production facilities and personnel
growth
The biggest distributor of textiles for Ikea Swedish giant
Has budgeted turnover worth over 20 million euros for this year, up
around 15% from last year
Forecasts the profitability rate will stand at around 10%, meaning a
minimum profit of 2 million euros
Its main shareholders are A2 Impex, with a stake of 59.84% and SIF
Moldova with 31.52%.
source ]]>2006-07-14T08:50:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraRomanians most interested to buy well-known brand clothinghttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art5787691164/ source ]]>2006-07-11T18:05:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraRomanian textile industry to shrink by over 2bn euros in 5 yearshttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art0124660363/
Over the next four years, the number of players will almost halve, as
domestic companies will reposition themselves so as not to directly compete
with products coming from Asia. Wages in the industry will triple, getting
to 300-400 euros per month.
In Romania, companies such as Zara, Christian Lacroix, Escada, Lacoste,
Sonya Rykiel, Dolce & Gabbana or H&M have contracted out production.
Romania, which used to be highly appealing for European fashion houses owing
to its cheap labour force and low-price raw materials, might soon find
itself deserted for Asia.
As a result, plants working under contract will be the hardest hit.
Gheorghe Caescu, general manager of Iasitex company, one of the top ten
players in the domain, considers EU integration will have a negative impact
on the Romanian textile industry. He says domestic firms stand no chance in
front of Chinese products.
Therefore, Romanian players will only share the medium and the luxury
segments of the market. The market segment made up of low-quality products
is clearly dominated by Asia, he considers.
"The outsourcing segment is highly unpredictable at the moment. Every market
estimation depends on it," says Caescu. According to him, the Romanian
market will see the contracting out system vanish by 2010.
The year 2007 will be the first "threshold" the domestic textile industry
will have to cross, considers Maria Grapini, chairperson of the Light
Industry Employers Federation and chairperson of Pasmatex textile
company.
Grapini estimates many plants could close down in 2007, influenced by the
negative factors of the domestic market.
"There will be a negative impact on the industry. Only those investing and
holding high-productivity machinery will survive," specified Caescu.
In 2010, the textile industry will shrink by 25% compared to this year,
considers Maria Grapini.
She also anticipates the market will reorganise depending on the features of
the players to remain active.
As regards exports, Grapini's forecast for this year is even more
pessimistic than authorities' estimate.
"The National Strategy included a prognosis of 7.8bn euros by 2007,
therefore an advance against 2005. My projection, however, is of 6.8 billion
at the highest. In 2010, growth will be out of the question," she says.
At the same time, Grapini considers the total value of the market will stand
at 7.5 billion euros in 2010, with the current value revolving around 9.5
billion euros.
In this context, textiles account for 10% in this year's GDP. Grapini's
estimate points to a decline by 25% in the total value of the Romanian
textile industry.
source ]]>2006-07-10T06:42:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraShare of light industry in total exports has dropped to 44.1 pchttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art6118743377/
In Q1 of 2006, the value of forwards processing exports in the light
industry dropped from EUR 1.299 bln to EUR 1.292 bln. This evolution of
light industry lohn exports was mainly the result of the reduction by 3.4
per cent of non-knitted garments to EUR 942 M, representing around 50 per
cent of the total export of the light industry, and of the increasing of the
knitted items and footwear by 2.2 per cent, 4.1 per cent respectively.
source ]]>2006-07-06T08:20:00+00:00ApparelIulianBulandraSiretul Pascani has 2m euros to spend on stockshttp://romaniandaily.ro/cat60490/art5952839190/
97 million RON (0.8 million euros) in cash and in bank accounts. "Siretul
has reached a stage in its development, which allows it to pursue a more
aggressive policy than the one it currently employs. We are trying to
establish the company's strategy over a three-year period, and this is one
of our options, to invest on the capital market. But this doesn't
necessarily mean we will put it into practice. We have requested our
shareholders' approval because we want to be ready to make quick decisions,"
explained Dan Berinde, chairman of the board of directors of Siretul.