"Mobexpert", no profit in 2009

• The company"s sales dropped 21% last year

The strong depreciation of the leu in 2009 led caused the aggregated sales of the "Mobexpert" group to drop almost 115 million Euros, said Dan Şucu, the chairman of "Mobexpert".

While the company expected its sales to only drop 10% in 2009, as the prices in lei of its products remained at their 2008 levels, the market circumstances led to a drop of 21% over 2008. Annual retail sales dropped 17% for the home furniture and decorations division, while the sales of the office furniture divisions dropped almost 30%, said Mr. Şucu, who mentioned that Mobexpert currently has 2,200 employees.

The "Mobexpert" group includes ten retail companies, eight furniture factories, six import companies and three services companies (IT, logistics and R&D).

The contraction of the retail segment, the fact that the prices in lei remained at their 2008 levels, as well as the incomplete use of the output capacities due to shrinking demand caused the profit of "Mobexpert" to drop to zero in 2009.

• Last year, "Mobexpert" factories operated at half their operating capacity

The group"s production area also felt the effects of the unfavorable economic environment. According to Dan Şucu, "the shrinking demand on the regional furniture market led was accompanies by a drop in demand in the foreign markets, amid the economic crisis. This led to a drop in the output of the factories of the < Mobexpert > Group, as most of them operated at just 50% of their capacity". On the other hand, exports to Western markets decreased about 30% YOY in 2009.

For the current year, the chairman of "Mobexpert" expects a gradual recovery of demand in the foreign markets, amid the recovery of the western economies: "When it comes to production, we will continue in our efforts to increase exports. < Mobexpert > is looking to preserve its contracts on its traditional markets in Western Europe, France in particular. Exports also help the company gauge whether the quality and the design of its products meet the rigors of the foreign markets".

On the retail side, "Mobexpert"has opened a new hypermarket in "Sun Plazza" Berceni, in February 2010, after a an investment of 4 million Euros. This is the 11th location in the "Mobexpert" hypermarket chain, which covers a total area of 61,000 sqm.