BRAVO EUROPA distributes in 13 European countries
The development of Bravo to European markets confirms our current position – over 180 employees in 6 European countries and distribution to 13 countries, in over 1300 DIY stores.
What products does Bravo Europa offer on the market and what is their target?
There was a slight increase at European level in 2016, supported in particular by the modification of the construction crediting banking policy, in the sense that financing has moved from the area of new constructions to the area of housing improvement.
On the renovation market especially, metal roofs have started to gain market share from the ceramic and concrete roofs, due to the advantages determined by weight, installation time and low costs.
The company started its activity in our country 16 years ago. Can you review the main achievements, but also the main challenges during this period?
I believe there were many achievements and many challenges in the 16 years of activity:
We were the first Romanian company to win the leading position on a market where the main players were experienced multinational companies, impressive budgets and investments of tens of millions of euro. We believe that, in the light of our results from that period, we have opened the way for Romanian companies towards performance in our field.
Another important achievement is the development of Bravo abroad by gaining the trust of international partners, the company currently having over 180 employees in 6 countries and supplying products in 13 countries in Europe, in over 1300 DIY stores.
As for the challenges, they are mainly related to the management of the crisis period from 2010 to 2012, which put us in the position where we had to give up risky business lines.
But perhaps the biggest challenge we are facing at the moment is to unify the organizational culture, as we are 6 different nationalities within the group.
Also, how was the last year for Bravo Europa?
First of all, 2016 meant for Bravo Europa a year of investments; our main concern was to “upgrade” the logistics and production infrastructure, to computerize the processes and to increase the professional level of the employees. In Romania and the Czech Republic, the company has doubled its production capacity for the main products, and in Germany we have opened a logistics platform. The three platforms have increased storage and delivery capacity by over 50%.
For 2017, our main objectives are to consolidate the leading position on the DIY markets in the countries where we operate with our own companies: Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria and to increase the market share in the other 9 countries where we are present. In 2017, Bravo group has planned consolidated business of over 35 million euros, increasing by 25% as compared to the previous year. In Romania, the company has planned a 10% increase, up to the level of 20 million euro.
What are the reasons for which the activity in Romania is more important for the company (here is the biggest factory serving most customers)?
The unit in Romania is highly experienced in the production and delivery of products in DIY networks, being specialized in creating sales concepts that proved to be successful over time and for this reason we aim to take these concepts throughout Europe.
The answers were provided by Adrian Minută, CEO of Bravo Europa Group.
