Profi - The disruptive growth of a Romanian retailer
Profi and its objective
In the last five years, the Romanian retailer Profi has achieved a CAGR of 16%, managing an impressive turnover growth (22%) in 2021 and a further amazing (11%) growth in 2023. To date, Profi accounts for over 21/2 Euros per year in sales (about 13 billion Leu, Romanian currency still in use as Romania, despite being in the European Union since 2007, is not yet part of the ‘Monetary Eurozone’). That is 51 billion Rands!
Growth yes, but profitability no
The net profit of the retailer, however, still remains in the negative. In this regard, Andrei Bica, CFO of Profi, an expert manager of financial dynamics, who boasts more than 20 years of professional experience in renowned companies of the most disparate sectors (Metro, Vodafone, T-Mobile, PWC), thus specified (with a recent post on LinkedIn)
How did the brand develop?
Profi was born in Belgium in 1979, from the Louis Delhaize group, with a discount soul driving a body of 130 outlets also located in Luxembourg: it then landed in Hungary in 1991 and in Romania in 2000. The 67 discount stores managed in Romanian territory were subsequently purchased by the private equity fund Polish Enterprise Fund VI (in 2009) and further transformed into a structured supermarket chain. The following year (2010), this same chain began its rapid growth until, in 2013, when the first ‘Profi City’ was inaugurated. Then, traditional supermarkets have been opened in the rural areas and, since 2015, peripheral shops with the ‘Profi Loco’ brand. In 2017, Profi was acquired by the MEP Retail Investments Group, part of Mid Europa Partners, for 533 million euros and, in 2019, the network consisted of 1 000 branches. In 2022, the stores grew to 1 600 (60% more, after only three years), half of which are managed with ‘franchise’ modes.
