Entry into the Romanian market in 5 months for a furniture manufacturer
We did a market audit, found 3 key distributors, and set up logistics from scratch.
A factory from Siedlce wanted to sell in Romania but didn't know how to approach the topic. Instead of writing theoretical plans, in 5 months we found them specific buyers and organized transport right to the door in Bucharest.
The challenge
Dąb-Styl sold 94% of its goods in Poland. Their warehouse was full because domestic demand fell by 13% last year. They tried sending emails to Romanian stores themselves, but no one replied. They were losing about 41,600 PLN per month just holding stock that sat on pallets. They didn't know local regulations and were afraid someone would cheat them on payments. In their industry margins are low, so every mistake in transport could eat up the entire profit.
Our approach
We sent our guy, Dariusz, for 12 days to Romania. Instead of calling, Dariusz went straight to Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. He arranged 14 meetings with owners of large furniture showrooms. At Złoty Standard Marketing we check facts, not promises, so we screened the finances of 9 Romanian companies. We rejected 6 of them because they had debts in government offices. 3 reliable companies remained. We established hard rules: 35% prepayment before each truck leaves Poland.
The solution
We made a simple product catalog in Romanian. We cut out the flowery adjectives and left only dimensions, weight, and hard prices in RON currency. We found a carrier from Oradea who was returning to Romania with empty cars. Thanks to this, transport cost 18.6% less than with Polish companies. We launched a report system where the factory owner sees every Tuesday how many wardrobes and beds sold in Romania. Your business must earn, so we focused on keeping the cash circulating fast.
Results
After 5 months, Dąb-Styl regularly sends 2 trucks of goods a month. The investment in our actions paid off with a surplus in mid-July 2023.
Timeline
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March 2023Check of prices and competition in Romanian stores
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April 2023Trips to Bucharest and verification of companies' solvency
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June 2023Signing of contracts and test shipments of material samples
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August 2023First full furniture transport to the distributor in Romania
"We were afraid of exporting because we don't know the language. Złoty Standard Marketing got us concrete contracts, not just reports. We talk straight about money and that suits me."