Retailers’ Expansion Plans Keep Logistics Operators Busy

12.01.2011 By Ioana Mihai-Andrei

Almost 180 trucks of logistics operator FM Logistic are loaded with products from customers every day, among which Cora, Profi, Bricostore and Carrefour, as well as Nestle, Danone, Coca-Cola and Unilever. All in all, the company has 80 customers for its transport services, and their number is on the rise.

Herve Dujardin, corporate sales director of FM Logistic, which has logistics operations in 11 countries, says Romania is the best growth area for the coming years, which is the why the company decided to invest on this market. Seen through Dujardin's eyes, the country has the great advantage of not being mature yet, hence companies can develop nicely. Retail, to which service providers' business is tightly connected, is expanding in full gear, writes Business Magazin.

No less than 40 hypermarkets will open in the next ten years, Dujardin thinks, which is why the 20 hectares of land that FM Logistic owns in Romania will be used for building further storage facilities.

"I'm positive all the land we have now will be full of warehouses in ten years," the executive said, who added it might happen sooner than that, even though he is quite pessimistic about the trend of the world economy over the next three years.

The business in Romania is thriving at the moment, and this year's turnover will reach EUR22 million, up from EUR20 million last year. The figure only reveals the services billed and does not reflect the value of the goods stored and carried.

The growth was made possible by the decline in the number of carriers because of the crisis on the one hand, and on the other by the fact that although the price of its services is not the lowest on the market, it is "probably among the best", says Cristina Botos, head of the transport division of the FM Logistic.

(English version by Loredana Fratila)