EUGEN SAVU, PARMAFOOD GROUP: "WE ARE ANALYTICAL CAREFULLY ANALYZING ALL NICHES TO ADD MORE VALUE FOR CUSTOMERS"

2017 is a key year for the Parmafood group of companies, the shareholders wanting both to expand the distribution area by developing strategic partnerships across the counties as well as to optimize the current product portfolio.
 
"In 2009, the economic crisis determined us to take the decision of giving up the sales force that we had in various important regions of the country. In 2017, we have proposed a higher national coverage. Practically, we want to return and develop more in the country, and in this respect we evaluate the opportunity to collaborate with other distributors from various regions which are important for us. Nowadays I do not believe in the classic business model that involves the creation of a giant structure, with tens and hundreds of agents and cars, with direct distribution at the sale point, etc. The magnitude of the parallel imports phenomenon, the success enjoyed by the on line channel or the elasticity we have to prove are reasons that make us find new opportunities and development levers," underlines Eugen Savu, owner of the Parmafood group, a business that registered an increase of about 10% in 2016.
 
"In our case, we are talking more about a vertical growth, especially generated by the growth of the product portfolio. We are still in a period of portfolio analysis and optimization, and in this category management process we are looking both at the efficiency of articles and to the current trends and needs of the market. We are carefully analysing certain niches because we think we can add here more value to our clients. We are perceived as a top importer of quality Mediterranean products, we are in the top three in several important categories - olive oil, canned tuna, tomato sauces - we have strategic partners in various European countries, but also in the Romanian retail and HoReCa markets. We are looking more closely at their needs and market trends to optimize our offer for each distribution channel. For an importer and distributor, the innovative element remains very important, and here we also have the necessary logistical experience and power," added Eugen Savu.
 
In 2017, the company plans to increase its turnover by 10-15%, amid the implementation of the above mentioned projects: portfolio restructuring and optimization, cost restructuring, higher national coverage, analysis of some niche categories and products. Nowadays, the share of modern trade in the turnover of the group is about 65%, the rest of 35% being claimed by the HoReCa.
 
In April 2017, the company sold both its warehouses to the Belgian industrial developer Warehouse & Distribution De Pauw (WDP), which in his turn has a partnership with the Aquila & Seca Group, so that the spaces will be also used by the latter. The object of the transaction was represented by the two warehouses with a total surface of about 12,000 square meters - one of them with controlled temperature – and also by the land on which they were built.
 
Article published in Modern Buyer on May 11, 2017