Romanian Retailer Leonardo Closes 30 Stores, Sacks 600 People

Late 2008, the Leonardo network included over 200 stores in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, and had over 3,000 employees.

In 2008, Leonardo Romania reported a turnover of 500 million lei (EUR1=RON4.2434), VAT not included, while the group’s sales exceeded RON600 million in the same period.

According to an Ensight release, the footwear market was sharply affected by the financial crisis last year, as sales fell 30% on the year. In the previous years, Leonardo had an aggressive expansion policy, acquiring significant quantities of products, which triggered higher debts to suppliers.

As sales decreased, while getting financing became significantly morre difficult, Leonardo has started a restructuring process, aiming to cut costs, especially with labor and rents.

Ensight Managament Consulting stated that Leonardo also took similar measures for its international operations.

Ensight Management Consulting is a management consultancy company with Romanian capital.