“Understand” the market, which you want to step into

A discussion forum, organized by the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offered useful advice and practical solutions to Bulgarian traders and producers.

The Romanian consumer goods market is extremely oversaturated, the shelves on the chains are filled to the limit. In order for a new product to enter a chain – two others must come out. This was made clear on the March 27th Discussion Forum “Steps to Enter the Romanian Consumer Goods Market”. The organizer is the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber, whose activities in recent years draws new paths in the development of the relations between the two Danube countries.

Participants in the forum were 30 owners and representatives of companies from different sectors that are already developing or planning to enter the Romanian market. Both lecturers of the event drew great interest – Mr. Marius Caluian and Mr. Dan Robu.

They were certain that there was no special bias towards Bulgaria and Bulgarian products. Any product with a good presentation and price can be a success. When selecting the brand name, we are trying to impose in the market, it does not necessarily have to be in Romanian (Romanian word). It is important that it does not sound strange, it should be easy to remember and it should not be associated with inappropriate Romanian words.

“Join the market with your” star “products – Dan Robu advised – Your products with the best quality / packaging / price ratio. These “stars”, which will be sufficiently important and attractive to consumers. You cannot make mistakes in the first year! It is the period in which you build trust in your business. Mistakes in logistics, in quality, even in the speed of communication, may prove to be fatal. “

With over 20 years of experience in leading retail companies, Mr. Caluian is the General Manager of Vektor Marktforschung – one of the most dynamic traders in the retail sector, active in the Romanian and Moldovan markets, and also successfully entered into Bulgaria this year. One of the proven experts in the FMCG business, Dan is a partner in a Bulgarian-Romanian food trading company, whose sales in the Romanian retail chains tripled for only one year and reached 58% market share in Romania.

“It’s important to be proactive,” Dan Robu says, “know that the market will not wait for you to react. Be innovative and the first to introduce new concepts, products, packaging to the specific market. This will help you a lot when you meet a buyer. If you are good, in a short time you can become his most preferred supplier.”

Trade chains (so-called modern trade) in Romania already have a share of about 60% and for some groups of goods even 70%. These are just 10 chains and they have hundreds of suppliers. One should not underestimate the great power that every buyer has in his hands – the specialist who actually decides what goods to buy and offer in the particular retail outlet. That is why the right approach from the start is of decisive importance. All these buyers and distributors are now much more experienced and “spoiled” and very often the chance to meet them is just one.

Moderator of the meeting was Mrs. Eleonora Ivanova – Chair of the Managing Board of the Chamber. “The market in our northern neighbor poses many challenges to Bulgarian companies, even though it has great potential. Few are the Bulgarian products that can be found in the retail chains in Romania. That is why we, in Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber, focus our efforts in this direction. Our main mission is to build useful partnerships to support our companies, “said Mrs. Ivanova.

The main conclusion in the discussions was the mandatory need to understand the specifics of the market. It is important to build a strategy for it based on market audit and census data. This will determine which product would be best sold in which city – in which store, at what prices, what preferences do consumers have. For a short while, market niches appear on the market, which then disappear. These companies, who are already selling there, must keep an eye on such opportunities that can push them forward quickly. These preliminary efforts will focus the companies’ actions and save them money.