Business Review No. 44, November 29 - December 5

PAYING TAXES IS GETTING EASIER DESPITE THE DOWNTURN, PWC SAYS; SEE PAGE 5 BALANCE

FOCUS

TALENT

Bucharest gets ready to ring in the

Retailers are going promo crazy as

Sofa, so good: Razvan Beschea of

New Year with a gamut of celebra-

they fight to hang onto their ever

Alf Electrocasnice, to which couches

tions over the festive season

more cost-conscious customers

are the latest addition, talks shop

BUSINESS REVIEW See pages 12-13

See page 14

See page 16

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ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY

NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 5, 2010 / VOLUME 14, NUMBER 44

FOREIGN MISSION

The two carmakers active in Romania, Ford and Renault-Dacia, have seen

see pages 10-11

COURTESY OF PSA-PEUGEOT-CITROEN

local sales stall, but Western markets are providing an engine of growth

THIS WEEK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

CUT THAT OUT!

“Banks acted as intermediaries,

luring

their clients at the most (…), but they didn’t borrow money to get the country in debt; it was the citizens who

”

took out loans

Jeffrey Franks, IMF mission chief for Romania, said a clear ”no” to the tax rate decrease from 16 percent to 10 percent approved recently by Romanian senators. He said that if made law, the measure would generate a budget deficit that would exceed the 4.4 percent level of GDP agreed upon, thus breaking an important condition for the next IMF and EU disbursements to Romania

Romanian central bank governor Mugur Isarescu points out that some 4.5 million Romanians, about half of the country’s workforce, have borrowed money from the banks in the last few years

Week in NUMBERS 10 percent the new flat tax voted by the Senate, down from the previous 16 percent

EUR 9.3 billion the sum allotted by the government for the salaries of all state employees next year

1.29 million the number of people that should remain employed in state institutions by the end of December

449,658 the number of light bulbs in the Xmas installation illuminated at the Sun Plaza mall last week, pronounced by Guinness World Records as the largest in one space

LET THERE BE LIGHTS! B USINESS R EVIEW

What we are working on

NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 5, 2010 / VOLUME 14, NUMBER 44

Founding Editor BILL AVERY

Executive Director GEORGE MOISE

Editor-in-Chief SIMONA FODOR Senior Journalists ANCA IONESCU

Sales & Events Director OANA MOLODOI

Journalists SIMONA BAZAVAN

ADINA MILEA

Copy Editor Photographer Layout

of the year

CLAUDIA MUNTEANU ANA-MARIA NEDELCU

SIMONA BAZAVAN, Journalist...

Production

is writing an article

DAN MITROI

on Kazakh invest-

Distribution

ments on the local

LAURENTIU OBAE BEATRICE GHEORGHIU

analysis of the deals

Sales & Events

CORINA DUMITRESCU DEBBIE STOWE

is working on an

Marketing Manager

OTILIA HARAGA DANA VERDE{

DANA VERDES, Senior Journalist...

EUGEN MU{AT

No.10 Italiana St, 2nd Floor, Ap.3 Bucharest - Romania Tel. Office: 031.040.09.31 Tel. Editorial: 031.040.09.32 Fax: 031.040.09.34 E-mails: firstname.lastname@business-review.ro; Audited 1H 2007

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BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

market

CORINA DUMITRESCU, Journalist...

Guinness World Records recognized on November 25 the world

is preparing a fea-

record attempt by Sun Plaza: 449,658 light bulbs which form the

ture on winter holi-

largest Christmas light installation in the world at one location

day gift suggestions

3

NEWS

Romanian law firm Danila, Petre & Asociatii opens subsidiary in Bulgaria

Danila, Petre & Asociatii, which has recently branched out into fiscal consultancy, has become the first Romanian law firm to open a subsidiary in neighboring country Bulgaria, a so-called “fiscal paradise”.

“We have decided that it is time we took measures, in order to be nearer to our current clients and come to the aid of potential ones interested in relocation or in founding a company in Bulgaria. Moving to Bulgaria is a phenomenon that will develop in the following year,” said Cristian Petre, senior partner at Danila, Petre & Asociatii.

Around 2,500 Romanian companies have moved their headquarters to Bulgaria, according to a Reuters analysis quoted by the law firm. The country is currently financially attractive since it has one of the lowest company profit tax rates within the EU, at only 10 percent, while the tax on dividends is 5 percent, compared to 16 percent in Romania. Moreover, companies in neighboring Bulgaria do not have to make quarterly fiscal declarations, only an annual profit tax declaration by 31 March of the following year.

The law firm’s newly founded subsidiary is located in Ruse, close to the Romanian border, and has four employees, an administrator and three accountants (Bulgarian citizens who speak Romanian), along with three external consultants and the partners and associates of DPA Romania.

4

The income tax rate decrease from 16 percent to 10 percent recently approved by Romanian senators has provoked the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) to speak out against the move.

Jeffrey Franks, IMF mission chief for Romania, said that if it becomes law, the measure would open a significant additional gap in the 2011 budget and the deficit would exceed 4.4 percent of GDP, the limit for the next IMF and EU disbursements to Romania.

“The difficult but necessary measures taken in July to fix Romania’s fiscal problems are now beginning to bear fruit. Revenues are rebounding, expenditures are falling to more sustainable levels and confidence in the Romanian economy is

COURTESY OF GOV.RO

Luminita Danila, senior attorney and partner at Danila, Petre & Asociatii

IMF urges state to reconsider senators’ income tax cut

Jeffrey Franks, IMF mission chief for Romania (foreground)

recovering both here and abroad.

Initiatives to continuously tinker with the tax system create instability in the business climate and undermine the economic recovery,” said Franks.

He added: “We expect that action will be taken to ensure that this unfunded tax cut will not be made law. We urge lawmakers of all political parties to approve a responsible 2011 budget and to approve the reforms needed to secure a more stable and prosperous future for Romania. We are confident that we will be able to proceed as scheduled to approve the sixth review of the IMF board in early January once all prior conditions have been met.”

Dana Verdes

Romania’s foreign debt due to public’s excess borrowing, not banks, says Isarescu

Romanian central bank governor Mugur Isarescu

Romanian central bank governor Mugur Isarescu sprang to the defense of local lenders last week, saying that the Romanian people were to blame for getting the coun-

try int debt, not the banks. “Banks acted as intermediaries, luring their clients at the most (…), but they didn’t borrow money in order to indebt the country; the citizens were

the ones who took out loans,” he told a banking forum.

Isarescu said the bulk of the EUR 22 billion of foreign financing attracted by commercial lenders had gone into local loans, adding that some 4.5 million Romanians, about half of the country’s workforce, have borrowed money in the last few years.

“Romanian banks have foreign assets of EUR 2 billion, while their domestic assets reach EUR 50 billion. In other words, the banks did their job on the local market (…).

Therefore, the banks in Romania are only to be blamed, to use a strong word, for EUR 22 billion out of a EUR 90 billion external debt,” added the central bank governor.

Public debt represents only about EUR 19 billion of the country’s external debt, a “manageable” level, as well as that of the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves, said Isarescu.

Simona Bazavan

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

NEWS

Red-tape Romania ranks lowly 151st in PwC Paying Taxes 2011 report

Peter de Ruiter, partner tax & legal services at PwC Romania

Romania has been ranked 151st out of 181 countries for the ease of its fiscal procedures in Paying Taxes 2011, a new report released by PwC,

the World Bank and IFC. It marks a slight fall from 2010, when the country came 147th in the list.

“This position is strongly influenced by the high number of payments and taxes existing in Romania: no fewer than 113 payments throughout a year, of which 84 are social contributions. There is no functional electronic system. The country’s position in the lower half of the classification is not solely due to the fiscal system in Romania, but to fiscal reforms implemented by other countries as well,” said Peter de Ruiter, partner tax & legal services at PwC Romania.

The number of hours necessary to meet fiscal demands has increased in the last year, from 202 hours spent in 2009 to 222 hours this year. This is mostly due to the introduction of new

regulations relating to work contracts, as well as changes to profit tax legislation. But progress has been made regarding the electronic payment of bills, introduced in 2009, which has been simplified to improve the compliance process.

“In 2010, the government introduced some more fiscal measures, meant to help reach the budget deficit target. These measures are expected to affect the tax payment indicator. They involve the VAT increase from 19 percent to 24 percent, along with other regulations regarding VAT payment; an increase in local taxes (for example, the taxes on automobiles, emission certificates, notifications and authorizations for publicity), as well as the introduction of a new penalty system for tax payment delays,” added de Ruiter.

On a global level, nearly 60 percent of the world’s economies have made significant business regulatory changes to ease the payment of taxes, despite the impact of the downturn and the sluggish global recovery, found the report. “Governments have continued to improve and simplify their tax systems for local firms, and are seeing positive results,” said Neil Gregory, director of the global indicators and analysis department at the World Bank Group.

The Paying Taxes 2011 report measures the ease of paying taxes by assessing the administrative burden for companies to comply with tax regulations, and by calculating companies’ total tax liability as a percentage of pre-tax profits.

Corina Dumitrescu

Rominserv taps into USD 4 mln local drinking water project

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

3 million, consisting of sewage systems, new water supply systems, rehabilitation works and the extension of the existing water supply system.

Also, Rominserv will complete the construction of four storage tanks for vegetable oil at the end of this year, based on a USD 2.1 million agreement with Prio Extractie, a company of PRIO SGPS, a subsidiary of Martifer Group.

Rominserv estimates a turnover of some USD 200 million for this year, a 13 percent hike compared to the same period of 2009.

Dana Verdes

COURTESY OF ROMPETROL

Rominserv, the general contractor of the Rompetrol Group, has been selected as the winner of a USD 4 million project in Romania.

According to company information, the project’s scope is to implement a micro zonal system that will supply drinking water to four towns in Prahova county (Brebu, Alunis, Varbilau and Slanic), each with about 25,000 inhabitants. Rominserv officials have announced that the project will be finished by 2013.

Currently, the company has ongoing infrastructure projects worth some USD

Rominserv has won a USD 4 million drinking water system contract

5

NEWS

Den Braven sees turnover grow by 30 percent in first ten months

CEC Bank results rise on deposits and credits

COURTESY OF DEN BRAVEN

Adrian State, general manager of Dutch polyurethane foams and adhesives producer Den Braven

struction materials’ market fell by over 50 percent and about 80 Romanian companies go bankrupt daily,” State added.

The lack of cash liquidities and large-scale construction projects has driven local consumers to purchase materials in smaller quantities and through specialized stores. “Sales through our key-account networks went up by over 55 percent on average, and in some cases by 100 percent,” commented the GM. The company said it had invested in expanding its sales team and increased salaries by about 10 percent.

This summer, the Den Braven group was taken over by two Dutch investment funds, Egeria in partnership with Wagram, which acquired its majority share package.

Simona Bazavan

LAURENTIU OBAE

The local subsidiary of Dutch polyurethane foams and adhesives producer Den Braven has reported a EUR 33.7 million turnover for the first ten months of the year, 30 percent up on the same period of 2009.

By the end of the year the company expects to reach EUR 37 million, about 20 percent more than in 2009.

The increase was mostly generated by exports, which grew by 71 percent compared to the first ten months of 2009, reaching EUR 16.6 million, according to Adrian State, general manager of Den Braven Romania. The company exports to 32 markets after entering Lithuania, Argentina and Vietnam in 2010.

“We have also managed to increase local sales as well as the number of our Romanian clients, despite the fact that the local con-

Results CEC: the state-owned lender has seen a 10 percent rise in deposits

Romanian state-owned lender CEC Bank has recorded a 10 percent hike in deposits in the first nine months of the year, to RON 15.2 billion, above the sector average.

CEC data reveals that the bank has intensified lending activity to companies, an increased of 11 percent compared with the first nine months of 2009.

According to a bank press release, the financial institution’s activity in the first three quarters of this year was to identify those SME or public authorities’ projects which

had a high chance of being successfully financed.

By September 30, the bank had approved some 9,500 loans representing RON 1.36 billion, the top sectors being agriculture and SMEs. CEC Bank has financed 5,042 projects eligible for EU accession funds worth some RON 1.2 billion so far.

The bank’s gross profit reached around RON 89 million at the end of the third quarter, compared with RON 55 million registered during the same period of 2009.

Dana Verdes

Bechtel to lay off more than 800 Transylvania highway workers

6

cording to Lup, 834 employees working on the highway will be sacked.

Bechtel’s announcement comes a week after the prime minister, Emil Boc, and the transport minister, Anca Boagiu, cut the ribbon to open a new ten-kilometer section of the Transylvania highway between Turda and Campia Turzii in northwestern Romania. A first 42-kilometer section of the road, which is mapped out to be 415-kilometers long, was completed and opened to traffic in December last year.

Simona Bazavanx

COURTESY OF AUTOSTRADA TRANSILVANIA

American firm Bechtel, the company building Romania’s Transylvania highway, announced last week that it plans to make over 800 employees working on the highway site redundant.

The firm said that the construction area was not ready for further works and that the Romanian authorities have not paid their debts for works finished in 2010.

Union leader Mihai Lup, quoted

by Mediafax, said last week that Bechtel intended to carry out its “massive layoff plan” between January 20 and February 28, 2011. Ac-

Road to nowhere: Bechtel has given over 800 highway employees their marching orders BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

CALENDAR / WHO’S NEWS

WHO’S HEZY OVADIA is the new president of URBB, taking over from Shachar Shaine who has led the company for the past six years. With 19 years of professional experience in various managerial positions in FMCG companies, including Carlsberg Group – Israel Beer Breweries, Ovadia plans to develop the company’s existing portfolio. He holds an EMBA from the Tel Aviv University, and has been part of the board of administration of Tuborg Romania.

DANIEL TURNHEIM has been appointed chief financial officer at Petrom. He studied business administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. In 2002, he joined OMV Group where he held several posi-

NEWS tions including head of controlling at OMV UK. Since 2007, Turnheim has served as head of OMV corporate controlling. At the end of 2009, he became a member of the Petrol Ofisi board of directors.

HILMAR KROAT-REDER has been appointed member of the executive board responsible for gas and power at Petrom. He studied law and business administration at the University of Vienna, the Vienna University of Economics and Business and at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, California, USA. Since 2002, Kroat-Reder has held various positions with OMV: head of corporate development & M&A/Legal, VP of the CEO’s Office, while currently he holds the position of senior vice president, corporate affairs & sustainability.

EVENTS, BUSINESS AND POLITICAL AGENDA NOVEMBER 29 é Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited organizes a press confer-

ence on the topic of the Property Fund at Radisson Blu Hotel. By invitation only.

DECEMBER 2 é BCR organizes a special event for the celebration of its 20th anniversary at

Casa Capsa. By invitation only.

DECEMBER 9 é Oriflame Romania celebrates 15 years of activity on the local market.

Garrigues closes Bucharest office, centralizes operations to Poland Spanish law firm Garrigues has announced that it will close its office in Bucharest and relocate all operations to Warsaw after reassessing its strategy for the Central and Eastern European region.

The decision reflects both the increase of its market share on the Polish market and Garrigues’ commitment to the region, said firm representatives.

“These decisions are part of our current strategy for Central and East-

ern Europe where the company will centralize all of its operations at the Warsaw office, an efficient coordination center for all our regional clients,” said Alejandro Miquel, operations director for Central and Eastern Europe at Garrigues.

The decision to close the Bucharest office was made with the agreement of Mihai Mares, the law firm’s local partner and office manager.

Simona Bazavan

Business Review welcomes information for Who’s News from readers.

Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. Feel free to contact us at editorial@business-review.ro

Rompetrol Rafinare finishes EUR 3.8 million investment in new LPG terminal in Midia port Rompetrol Rafinare, a company member of the Rompetrol Group, has completed the construction of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal in Midia port, a USD 3.8 million investment.

“The terminal is part of the Rompetrol Group’s strategy to increase the import-export capacity of the Petromidia platform. The new investment will ensure a reduction of more than 20 percent of the costs related to LPG import-export activities, but also of the delivery time and, therefore, the number of operations,” said Arman Kairdenov, Rompetrol Rafinare GM. The new site has a maximum capacity of approximately 3,000 tons/transport, being directly connected to two of the refinery’s LPG BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

tanks (approximately 3,600 cubic meters).

In the context of the planned maintenance shutdown of activities at the Petromidia platform, Rompetrol Rafinare registered a decrease in liquefied petroleum gas production during the first nine months of the year of approximately 5 percent compared to the same period in 2009, to above 187,000 tons.

Currently, Rompetrol Gas has three bottling stations, in Navodari, Arad and Bacau, with an annual bottling capacity of 60,000 tons of LPG, a storage capacity of 3,500 cubic meters, over 260 skids and more than 6,000 points of sale for cylinders.

Dana Verdes 7

INTERVIEW

Carpatcement Holding talks concrete plans on a wobbly market The local cement market has

What is Carpatcement’s estimated turnover for 2010 and how does it compare to the previous year?

As we are part of the local economy, the company is connected to the trends on the local market. For 2010 we estimate a decrease of approximately 10 percent against the previous year when the turnover for all three divisions reached about EUR 240 million.

fallen by about 15 percent this year and local players say they are not holding out high hopes for 2011 either. Against this backdrop, FLORIAN ALDEA, the new general manager of Carpatcement Holding, says he intends to further consolidate COURTESY OF CARPATCEMENT HOLDING

his company’s position and told Business Review some of his plans.

Simona Bazavan You take the helm of Carpatcement Holding at a difficult moment for the local constructions materials’ market. What are your plans for the company and what do you think will be the biggest challenges ahead?

In spite of the difficult economic context, which affects us all, I know I take the helm of a company with a solid position on the market, a company made up of professionals and with a well established name in the local business environment for many years now.

As a general target, together with the management team I plan to continue to consolidate and develop the position that Carpatcement Holding currently has on the market. This is something I have been working on for the past few years as previously I served as general manager of Carpat Beton, the concrete division of HeidelbergCement. The strategy regards all of the company’s business lines: cement, concrete and aggregates. On the medium term, one of my priorities is to 8

develop the concrete and aggregates divisions in order to better respond to our clients’ and partners’ needs.

How has the local market evolved in 2010 compared to the previous year and what are your expectations for 2011?

We estimate that this year there will be a 10-15 percent decline in cement sales in Romania compared to 2009. This is something that was triggered both by the overall economic recession and the macroeconomic and political instability, as well as by the reduced chances of realizing the large-scale infrastructure projects previously announced.

If we have a harsh winter, the drop could be even more considerable.

We believe that next year the market should see a slight increase if there is political stability and the government’s much needed austerity measures bear fruit. But most likely, only in 2012 will we be able to talk about healthy growth rates for the local market. Compared to many other countries there are still many opportunities and also high investment needs.

When talking about the effects of the crisis and its recovery potential, is the Romanian market different from other countries in the region?

The Romanian market has some particularities that are at the same time both setbacks and advantages.

On the less favorable side, the new economic context did not allow us the necessary time to address some of the structural issues that we are still facing. The full half of the glass is that being less connected to the European economy we were also less affected by the crisis than Western markets.

The local cement market is, nevertheless, in spite of internal factors such as the lack of macroeconomic stability, more stable than other markets and it also has a higher potential for growth because of the need for investments. The Romanian per capita cement consumption of only approximately 300 kg annually is one of the lowest in Europe, where the average is 400-500 kg.

And there are countries that reach an 800 kg yearly per capita cement consumption.

What strategies have you implemented to counteract the decreasing market, and what are your plans for 2011?

We can say that we have acted very cautiously as a company ever since 2008 when the first signs of the crisis appeared. As an action plan, we have closely monitored all costs and cash flows in order to streamline internal costs. For the same purpose we have reduced expenses to cut non-productive costs and maintain efficiency indicators between reasonable margins. The strategy has proved successful as we have managed to reduce expenses by about 10-15 percent.

Preserving a solid position was also possible through relations built over time with our clients and suppliers and the fact that we are part of one of the largest world groups active on the construction materials’ market, German HeidelbergCement.

Is Romania an important market for HeidelbergCement? What is the share of Carpatcement Holding in the group’s turnover?

HeidelbergCement runs operations from America to Asia. Romania doesn’t have a significant share – below 3 percent by volume – but the share of each country is directly related to its development stage and the scale of the investment projects it undertakes.

What was the company’s investment budget this year and what are the plans for 2011?

This year we have invested approximately EUR 8 million in various production-related projects and mainly in modernizing the equipment. Nevertheless, we have a flexible budget structure in case new opportunities appear. For 2011 we have planned a similar amount.

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

FOCUS

Local carmakers Dacia and Ford look to West to fuel stalled market kets, the two carmakers have their own demons to fight if they are going to keep their heads above water.

With local sales running out of gas, local carmakers have been

DACIA COMPLAINS AS WORK FORCE DRIVES UP COSTS

thrown a lifeline in the form of higher demand from EU countries. And while Ford has announced plans to develop a low-cost model at Craiova by the end of next year, Dacia officials are complaining about the increasing cost of local labor.

Dana Verdes “The automotive industry has already gone through two years of crisis. In Romania the car market has reached a critical level this year.”

This is how Constantin Stroe, president and GM of the Association of Automotive Manufacturers of Romania (ACAROM), summarized the current car scene. A rather gloomy perspective and, with Jerome Olive, COO of Renault Dacia, adding, “The forecasts for 2011

Driving a hard bargain: the economic crisis has put the brakes on the local auto market

are in line with the ones for this year”, the sector does not seem to be on the road to an immediate return to profit.

“In 2010, it would be a great achievement if we reached about 90 percent of last year’s production, which was 130,000 units,” said Stroe, who is also Dacia’s vice-president.

What has saved the two carmakers with operations in Romania, Dacia and Ford, from total disaster has been exports. “Car exports reached 238,273 units at ten months, compared to 242,688 recorded at the end of 2009, while total car production reached 279,000 vehicles at the end of 2009,” said Stroe.

Despite success on foreign mar-

Dacia cites “fluctuations in salaries, which at Dacia have increased three times in the past five years, and the exchange rate instability which erodes the value of investments in Romania” among the main difficulties encountered in day-to-day operations. As a result of these problems, French constructor Renault has decided to build its new production unit in Morocco.

Dacia officials have bemoaned the economic instability. “Compared with 2009, the economic environment has deteriorated this year: the reduction in lending, public-sector salary cuts of 25 percent and the VAT increase have destabilized the economic environment,” said Olive.

According to Alexandra Gatej, adviser to the president on the national and international business environment, from next year the government will continue the “cash for clunkers” program (where the purchase of new cars to replace old models is subsidized) and will introduce a car tax on Euro 5 (an emissions standard) vehicles. Carmakers welcome the government’s intended tax, hoping it will reduce the level of used car imports.

“I agree with the statement that the tax on Euro 5 vehicles was introduced to hike the value of other cars,” said Stroe.

Local car market in figures Exports Imports Passenger cars Commercial cars Passenger cars Commercial cars

Sales Passenger cars Commercial cars

2008

231056

13964

153595

2329

189050

26458

270695

35926

2009

279320

16990

242688

16100

91457

10756

130193

13882

SOURCE: 2010 YEARBOOK OF ACAROM

Production Passenger cars Commercial cars*

*Commercial cars here means light commercial vehicles of less than 3.5 tons 10

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

FOCUS

LAURENTIU OBAE

LAURENTIU OBAE

Dionisio Campos, president of Ford Romania

Constantin Stroe, Dacia vice-president and president and GM of the Association of ACAROM

Meanwhile, investments made in Renault’s Dacia plant and the acceleration of the development of Ford Romania’s factory are attracting new investment in the local automotive industry and creating the potential for a third manufacturer to enter the local market. “Romania produces three times fewer cars than Hungary, reported per thousand inhabitants, and ten times fewer than in Slovenia. For us there is great growth potential. There is room for a third carmaker,” said Stroe.

The Romanian car industry posted a turnover of EUR 8.1 billion last year, which was 6 percent of the country’s GDP. The industry is expected to up this to a 10 percent weight in the GDP this year, according to the ACAROM official.

coming low-class B-Max will be assembled at the plant from the end of next year and will be launched in serial production from 2012, according to Campos.

The company has already established a list of nearly 20 suppliers who will produce components for both the future small-class model, the B-Max, and the next generation light commercial Ford model, the Transit Connect.

Among the suppliers is Johnson Controls, which will produce seats for the future B-Max after investing some EUR 10 million, according to media reports, to establish the new production facility. Lear Corporation, an American company specialized in cable production, is another supplier. In the first ten months of this year nearly 7,500 Ford Transit Connect vans rolled off the production line in Craiova, according to statistics from the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA), with over 99 percent being exported.

“Production at the plant is currently 85 units per day, according to market demand. For this reason, production next year will be at a similar level,” said Campos. The cars go to Germany, France, Spain and Italy, but the main export destination is the United Kingdom.

By the end of this year, Ford will complete a total investment of EUR 200 million in the Craiova plant, about one third of the total target of EUR 675 million promised through the privatization contract, initially by 2012, and now, in the crisis, by 2013, when the firm must reach production of 300,000 units per year.

In the absence of a third carmaker it is unlikely that Romania will reach the 1 million car production target announced by the presidential advisor, even by 2020.

FORD

GOES LOW COST

The small class model Ford BMax will begin production at the Craiova plant by the end of next year and its commercial launch will follow in 2012, announced Dionisio Campos, president of Ford Romania. The first copies of the firm’s up-

Key NUMBERS 10 percent the automotive industry’s contribution to Romania’s GDP

20 percent total exports from the automotive sector

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

11

BALANCE

COURTESY OF JW MARRIOTT

Bucharest goes rockin’ around the Christmas Tree Times of crisis require desperate measures? Not across Bucharest, where locations both modern and traditional, luxurious and alternative, are coming up with creative surprises for everyone looking for suggestions on how to spend their winter holidays. BR has drawn up a shortlist of these venues, to suit every taste and budget or simply to inform a spur-of-the-moment decision for spending Saint Nicholas Day, Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Corina Dumitrescu In a spirit of defiance of the financially-challenging times, we begin our review with a five-star hotel.

Located in the proximity of one of Bucharest’s best known symbols, the Romanian Athenaeum, the Athenee Palace Hilton will be organizing three brunches to celebrate Christmas. The first of these will take place on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December 5, in Le Diplomat and Regina Maria halls, where children will have their own buffet, and face-painting and balloon drawing will be on offer. The charge is RON 210.

Next on the list of the Athenee 12

Palace Christmas brunches are gospel and jazz, to set the appropriate atmosphere for winter celebrations. On December 12, Le Diplomate will be hosting “A Merry Gospel Brunch”, where special guests will be the US Raise Gospel Choir, as well as Alexandra Ungureanu and her band. On December 25, the Merry Christmas Brunch will take place, accompanied by the Jazz Challenge group. A special corner will be set aside for children at the event. Each event costs RON 210.

New Year’s Eve will also bring themed celebrations. The hotel has 200 seats available for its New Year’s Eve party, equally divided between the Italian restaurant

Roberto’s and Café Athenee. Roberto’s will dedicate its celebration to Sophia Loren, as the restaurant will be offering Italian music and cuisine to its guests. A live cover band will set the atmosphere, accompanied by pasta delicacies and special shows on Italian cuisine. Attendance at Roberto’s will cost RON 750, though guests also booking accommodation will qualify for a special offer.

Café Athenee will set a more glamorous and laidback tone to see in 2011, at the cost of RON 350 and only for adults. A DJ, saxophonist and percussionist will set the mood for the evening, during which finger-food will be served, among oth-

er bites. Hotel guests may also spend the night at the English Bar, which will celebrate the 1980s with a disco. Reservations for the hotel’s events can be made with a deposit two weeks beforehand, according to available seats.

Sticking with the five-star theme, Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel, found in Bucharest’s own Beverly Hills, Calea Dorobantilor, is preparing various celebrations under the Winter Stories concept. The Story of Saint Nicholas will be opening the winter festivities. Taking place on December 5, it consists of a brunch where children, the special guests, will be entertained by face-painting, spin art, balloon art, as well as a popcorn machine, all accompanied by live music. Prices are RON 95 per adult and RON 45 for children over seven.

Traditional Romanian brunches will be served at Howard Johnson on December 12 and 19, featuring stars of the local cuisine such as “ciorba” and “sarmale”, for the cost of RON 140 for adults and RON 70 for children. Christmas-Flavored Tales will bring more options for Yuletide, with a brunch where children are the main focus, with features including a puppet theater.

Live music, Romanian cuisine and some intricate Japanese specialties will also be part of the menu for the cost of RON 140 for adults and RON 70 for children.

The Story of Avalon Delights is another option for spending Christmas at Howard Johnson, with Romanian specialties at the Romanian Country Christmas event, at a cost of RON 150 per person, or international cuisine at Avalon Christmas, where the cost is RON 200 per person. Part of the same Christmas celebration, A Japanese Story Benihana Christmas Menu focuses on Japanese cuisine, for RON 360 for two, while traditional Christmas goodies can be found in the hotel’s pastry shop.

Located on Calea Septembrie, the JW Marriott is also preparing five-star events for this winter’s celebrations. A traditional Christmas lunch and dinner in the restaurant will cost RON 170 (VAT included), and feature international cuisine, such as lobster, crab risotto and file mignon, among other options, to a backdrop of Christmas carols, live music and children’s activities.

More than one party will be taking place on New Year’s Eve at JW

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

BALANCE Marriott: Stardust Boulevard, in the Grand Ballroom, costs RON 870 per person as does Fame Boulevard, in the Constanta Ballroom. Stardust Boulevard will be hosted by the local Frank Sinatra, Horia Brenciu.

Fame Boulevard is described as a “flamboyant and contemporary choice” and is hosted by Vicky Jackson, who will perform the songs of Pink, Lady Gaga and Lily Allen. Those who prefer club music can attend the Champions VJ Party, for the cost of RON 400, VAT included.

Another five-star hotel in Bucharest, Carol Parc, located on Aleea Suter, is also preparing for winter celebrations. The venue offers its flagship location, Palatul Suter restaurant, which dates back to 1906 and has been completely restored. Customized menus here are prepared by chef Mihai Ionita and may be adapted according to preference, to match the desired budget or theme. The Piano Lounge provides live music and a fireplace atmosphere for the fee of EUR 150 per hour, plus VAT, while live piano is available for EUR 100 per hour.

Dinner in the Poem Restaurant offers a wide array of set menus, start-

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

ing at EUR 46 per guest, VAT included. Special offers are available at the hotel over the Yuletide period.

If British parties are your festive cup of tea, Mojo Music Club, located in Bucharest’s old center, might be the answer. Michael Fraser, one of the founding partners, says that after last year’s successful New Year’s party, not too many alterations will be made, so as to maintain tradition. Fraser says, “For RON 250, each person gets to experience Mojo at its best. Our fantastic band will be performing, and people can also sing away the night up in our acoustic lounge if they prefer.

We will have our dedicated modern DJ to play hits in between sets and throughout the night. Most important maybe for customers though is the open bar, delicious all-night buffet and Champagne at midnight.” As for Christmas, the location is available for booking by interested companies, on the remaining available dates. Features include access to the open bar, finger food and even the Mojo band, the latter at a cost of EUR 600.

In advance of Saint Nicholas day, on December 5 Mojo will be hosting its second British Comedy

night, for which tickets cost RON 50. Comedians Yianni Agisilaou, Hattie Hayridge and Geoff Whiting will be performing.

Some locations in Bucharest are closing their doors on New Year’s Eve, and will resume service on the morning on January 1. This is the case at Grand Café Van Gogh, located on Smardan Street, which, owner Jerry van Schaik predicts, might be one of the only places in Bucharest where customers can eat on January 1, enjoy brunch and indulge in some after-party champagne. The location is also available for Christmas parties for smaller companies, through the All Around the World Tasting Christmas concept, where 26 ways of cooking can be experimented with, as part of various cuisines from around the world.

The 80s seem to be a recurring theme for this year’s winter celebrations. One of the newest hip locations across Bucharest, The Ark, is inviting visitors to dress as their favorite 80s celebrity, with the chance of winning a VIP ticket to next year’s Roxette concert on May 30 or to Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher’s DJ set at The Ark Underground, on January 29. The menu will be pre-

pared by The Caterer, with chefs responsible for satisfying the culinary preferences of Guns n’ Roses, Metallica and even Madonna.

By way of Christmas celebrations, representatives say, the location offers a wide array of corporate events to interested clients, in either The Ark Lounge or The Ark Underground. The Ark is leaving the details mostly to the customer’s discretion, and can offer classic parties or more complex ones, which may also include decorated Swedish buffets, 3D projections, live bands and tribute artists, among other things.

Prices vary depending on requirements.

Bucharest’s sole spot covered by a retractable roof, Sky Bar, is also gearing up for winter celebrations, representatives say, as the roof has been pulled out and the location heated. On Christmas, the venue is set to offer traditional homemade Romanian delights, where even inhouse “cozonac” might be part of the menu, during the party that will probably be held on December 2223. On New Year’s Eve, a private party can be organized for one single group.

13

FOCUS

Special offer on the local FMCG market this year: 7 percent off

Simona Bazavan

14

SOME

INVEST IN BUSINESS EXPANSION, OTHERS CONSIDER SCALING BACK

Who will buy? Special promotions have been sweeping through supermarkets keen to maintain sales as cost-conscious customers downgrade to cheaper brands and snap up smaller volumes

panies say. “We are fully aware that in such an economic context one cannot add pressure on the final consumer by increasing prices,” Ramona Brad, external relations associate director at Procter & Gamble Romania (P&G), told Business Review. So local players pinned all their hopes on promotions. Brad adds that at P&G Romania the solution was to offer consumers price-differentiated items in the same product range, a strategy that has been implemented since before the crisis both globally and locally.

“Obviously purchasing power has decreased and consumers have focused on less expensive products, but by finding options among our product portfolio they have remained our consumers,” she says, adding that innovation is also crucial for a FMCG company, both when it comes to products but also to costs. This year P&G launched two new products on the local market, Ariel Active Gel Capsules and the Olay cosmetics line, with positive results so far, according to Brad, and others are to follow.

Promotions, cost optimization and aggressive marketing were also the strategy at Danone Romania. Bogdan Ioachim, the company’s corporate affairs director, says the firm also invested in consumer education projects related

to healthy eating. In the first six months of this year the company managed to boost yogurt sales by about 10 percent, but Ioachim says that Romania continues to have the lowest yearly per capita consumption average in the region, at only 5.7 kg, and annual growth rates remain modest.

Elsewhere, promotions were also the name of the game for Orkla Foods Romania. “We focused on the economical segment but brands from the medium segment such as Linco and Ardealul also performed well,” said Banu of the company’s strategy for 2010. Being a local business, Orkla Foods Romania also has the advantage of adapting better to market conditions, she added. The company says it plans to expand its product portfolio by launching new products next year.

As for what 2011 may bring, FMCG

In spite of the hard economic times, 2010 did not go without investment projects in the FMCG industry.

P&G officially opened a shampoo and conditioner plant in Urlati, Prahova county, in September. The USD 100 million plant is a greenfield investment which the company says is part of its strategy of sustainable development in Romania. About 90 percent of the production from Urlati is exported to regional markets such as Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic countries.

The firm also recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of its detergent and bleach plant in Timisoara. Over USD 50 million has been invested so far in the factory, which employs 300 people and exports 40 percent of the over 30 million liters of Fairy dishwashing detergent, 30 million liters of Ace bleaching detergent and 100,000 tons of Ariel, Bonux and Tide detergents it produces each year.

Other players are scaling back their operations. Ursus Breweries announced two weeks ago that it was closing its factory in Cluj-Napoca, due to poor results for the April-September period. The company currently operates four production units and says that their output is more than the local market can absorb.

“The Romanian beer market continues to go down, dropping by more than a quarter in the past year and a half,” said representatives of Ursus Breweries, adding that the forecast for the medium and long term was not optimistic. Between April and September the company’s sales volume went down by 11 percent against the same period of the previous year.

FMCG market structure in value Structure Food Non-food Drinks Cigarettes

Year To Date 2009 (%) 36.3 11.3 31.9 20.5

Year To Date 2010(%) 35.9 11.2 30.7 22.3

SOURCE: MEMRB

Economic uncertainty, shrinking salaries, a five percent VAT hike, inflation and faint hopes for economic recovery any time soon have all hit consumption for another consecutive year. While in 2009 the FMCG market reached roughly EUR 22 billion, in the first eight months of the year it fell by about 7 percent according to retail auditor MEMRB. The drinks industry saw sales sink by as much as 10.4 percent in value, food products shrank by 7.7 percent, and non-food by 7.8 percent, according to the same source. Cigarettes were the only industry with a positive growth rate but the modest 1.6 percent increase was mainly generated by price hikes.

“The new economic conditions have made local consumers return to economical products and promotions and become more selective by purchasing products only when needed and only in the necessary amounts. This trend began last year but continues,” Manuela Banu, general manager of Orkla Foods Romania, told Business Review.

Anything but hiking prices was the recipe for success this year, FMCG com-

companies remain cautious in their estimations, forecasting gradual recoveries at best.

LAURENTIU OBAE

From shampoo to yogurt, the local FMCG market has staggered under the weight of promotions this year, with companies sacrificing profitability on the altar of sales volumes and market share.

Shrinking purchasing power doesn’t leave much room for recovery hopes in 2011 but nevertheless, while waiting for better days, companies are continuing their aggressive marketing campaigns and announcing portfolio expansions.

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

PROPERTY Baumix reports RON 770,000 profit Gucci to open Bucharest store

STOCKEXCHANGE

Another brick in the wall: Baumax is in profit

Local construction materials producer Baumix has announced a RON 770,000 (around EUR 179,000) profit for the first nine months of the year, and estimates it will close 2010 with a net profit of around RON 400,000 (EUR 93,000). “This year brought us a managerial challenge, as it was probably the most difficult in the company’s history.

We had to deal with a 30 percent drop in the market compared to 2009, a competitive landscape characterized by dump-

ing practices (…) and a lack of major property developments,” said Augustin Rusu, general director of Baumix.

This year the firm has expanded its partnerships with DIY retailers, made the operational costs of the production process more efficient by relocating its plant in Gherla to Ploiesti, and made investments in upgrading its production equipment. The company estimates a turnover of RON 30.7 million (EUR 7.1 million) for this year, down 15 percent y-o-y, and a growing EBIDTA of 25 percent y-o-y, standing for 9 percent of the 2010 turnover. Next year it is aiming to increase its turnover to reach the 2009 level of RON 36 million (EUR 8.3 million), the main focus being on maintaining the increased profitability, optimizing the operational costs, national expansion and diversifying distribution channels both in retail and key accounts.

Baumix is one of the largest local producers of construction materials. The company owns six production lines in Ploiesti with a production capacity of 35,000 tons monthly.

AFI starts construction work at office buildings

by mid-December The first Gucci mono-brand store will open in Bucharest by midDecember, despite initial rumors of a possible delay, announced CPP Luxury Industry Management Consultants Ltd. The shop will cover a surface of 280 sqm and will be located on the ground floor of Athenee Palace Hilton.

“Gucci will have the best location in Bucharest, not only being positioned in the very heart of the city, on the leading shopping high street of Calea Victoriei, but also being on the right section of Calea Victoriei, steps from secure parking facilities, and with large windows assuring excellent visibility,” said Oliver Petcu, managing director of CPP Luxury Industry Management Consultants Ltd. Despite the difficult market conditions, Gucci is tipped to perform well in Romania due to the reputation and desirability of the brand, which ranks among the top three most popular luxury

brands among wealthy Romanian consumers, and also because the brand has a large collection of leather goods, according to CPP. The luxury market in Romania has been among the worst affected in the Central and Eastern European region, with sales drops of up to 20 percent in 2009 and 30 percent in 2010, compared to 2008. According to CPP, recovery is not expected before the fall season of 2011. The Gucci store in Bucharest will be directly operated by the firm, which runs its outlets in Prague and Budapest in the same manner.The decision to operate directly in Romania is recognition of the potential of the local luxury market, as rival Louis Vuitton has operated a very successful shop in Bucharest since 2008, according to CPP. Other luxury names with mono-brand stores in Bucharest include Canali, Hugo Boss, Moschino, Paul & Shark, Ermenegildo Zegna and Pal Zileri.

Otilia Haraga

STOCKEXCHANGE

AFI Europe’s new office project is scheduled for delivery in 2012

Developer AFI Europe has recently started construction work at two of the five office buildings that will be located close to the mall.

This new project, which is scheduled for delivery in 2012, is the result of a EUR 35 million investment.

The mall project developed by AFI, AFI Palace Cotroceni Mega

Fun, will soon mark one year of operations, having seen an average monthly turnover throughout 2010 of EUR 12-13 million, according to its own data.

The mall hosts 250 stores, 20 cinema halls, two casinos, a 1,000sqm skating rink, an XD cinema and 3,000 parking spaces, and is anchored by a Real hypermarket.

Adama completes works on first Evocasa Optima building Developer Adama has finished construction works on the first building of the Evocasa Optima project, the company has announced. Evocasa Optima includes six buildings, and the developer has invested EUR 14 million in the first stage.

The block has 83 two- and threeroom apartments, and is 80 percent occupied with 14 homes left available.

Adama has a partnership with Bank BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

Leumi for those wishing to take out credit to buy a property in the project.

At the end of 2009 Adama completed the first stage of the Evocasa Completa project in Bacau, and in February 2010 it finished the first Evocasa Armonia building. In April of this year the developer inaugurated the Evocasa Selecta project in Bucharest and in July it finished the Evocasa Orizont project in Ploiesti.

15

TALENT

On the couch with a serial entrepreneur Young entrepreneur RAZVAN BESCHEA has big plans for his company, even though the current business environment is not a favorable one. He intends to expand his business and consolidate its position on the local market.

Anca Ionescu Razvan Beschea, the owner and general manager of Alf Electrocasnice, took his first step in the business world when he was just 17. In 1990, Beschea and a friend started to export glasses frames to Turkey and import watch batteries in the other direction. Their business was operational for two years, and achieved some success. In 1991 the budding entrepreneur started to bring second hand TV sets from Germany on the local market. Nine years later, he completed his portfolio with washing machines imported from England.

But 1995 was the crucial time for Beschea’s future as a businessman. He decided to invest in a transportation company, buying several trucks with borrowed money. But the road ahead was not smooth for the young entrepreneur: the company he invested in came perilously close to bankruptcy. “From 1995 to 1997 the local market faced a significant crisis and the mistakes I made rapidly became visible,” remembers Beschea. But there was a bright side to his misfortunes: he learned a lot of things about running a business from his mistakes.

During the boom time that began in 2000-2001 the local economy started to recover and demand for home appliances grew significantly.

On such an auspicious stage, Beschea knew how to capitalize on opportunity and launched the Albatros home appliance brand in 2004, as part of Alf Electrocasnice. “It was a real challenge to develop the Albatros brand because I had to build it from scratch. Plus, at that time there were many distributors that confused Albatros with similar products,” remembers Beschea.

Initially, only semi-automatic washing machines were sold under 16

the brand. Now the company sells a wide range of home appliances, from carpet sweepers to cleaning systems. “I always thought of Albatros as a Romanian brand not as a Romanian product. I created it as a brand meant to inspire people and to build a long-term relationship with its customers,” explains the general manager. Since the very beginning, the businessman has positioned his products on a very specific market niche. The Albatros brand was designed for more conservative customers from rural areas of Romania.

“You have to have significant financial power as a company to be able to compete directly with large brands from a specific category. Because Alf Electrocasnice was a startup and Albatros was a young brand I couldn’t afford to enter such a battle. Therefore, I needed to find a niche that had significant potential to grow in the future,” says Beschea.

But while the entrepreneur avoided competing directly with other big brands, there was both domestic and foreign competition on his market niche, with Albalux, Technoton and Daewoo being Albatros’s main rivals.

Alf Electrocasnice grew steadily from year to year, posting an increase of over 230 percent in 2007 on 2006. The rise continued in the years to come, with the company registering a 50 percent growth in 2008 compared with the previous year. “We ended 2009 with a small increase but I saw it as a great achievement considering the current economic and financial crisis,” says the businessman.

But Beschea didn’t stop here: it seemed that his sights were set on becoming a serial entrepreneur. He launched additional businesses in his portfolio, all of them operating under the same umbrella of Alf

Electrocasnice. One of them is www.bambus.ro, launched in 2005, which sells ten types of parquet through three showrooms in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Bacau.

Limpio is another brand launched by Beschea in 2006, specialized in cleaning systems such as paper dispensers, hand dryers, soap chargers, etc. Its main customers are represented by companies and Horeca firms. “At present Limpio has 150 products, priced at 40-50 percent lower than what exists on the market,” says the entrepreneur.

And www.canapea.ro is Beschea’s last business, launched in 2007. It has three different segments: leather couches, textile ones and exotic furniture (such as from cane and sea weed). “Although it is not a favorable moment for this kind of business, I intend to open about ten showrooms in the most important cities in Romania on the short term.” Currently, Albatros home appliances make up about 65 percent of the turnover posted by Alf Electrocasnice, while the couch business accounts for 15 percent. The re-

maining 20 percent is split between Limpio and www.bambus.ro.

If Beschea started another business he would probably be more pragmatic with the opportunities that occurred. “I would take more chances, I would manage the costs more efficiently and I would motivate my people more.”

Alf Electrocasnice: é Established: 2003 é Market share: 1-5 percent é Number of employees: 29 é Initial investment: EUR 40,000 é Total investment: EUR 3 million é 2009 estimated turnover: EUR

5.5 million é 2010 estimated turnover: EUR 8

million

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

RESTAURANT REVIEW

A COLORFUL EXPERIENCE LIME AND LEMON, NO 5 LUTERANA

I

Tutti fruity: Lime and Lemon attracts a health conscious clientele – if you ignore the smoking

ed with a calorie content.

I normally pass on salads, but they had a selection of 24 on offer and I could not resist their Gorgonzola salad containing pomegranates, Gorgonzola, lettuce, grapes, pear and celery. It was both creative and exciting, as is the rest of their salad section.

Now, off to the hot section. We ordered a lasagna, which was what it said it was. You really cannot do a lasagna badly, and they did not do it badly! More interesting was their farfalle (butterfly shaped pasta) with shrimps, squash, white wine and parsley. This was a total failure. The chef had fried the shrimps instead of adding them at the last minute to the boiling pasta water. This made them hard and flavourless. The wine was indiscernable and there was no parsley.

I asked for olive oil to add to my dish and they gave me a spray aerosol bottle of oil. It was awful.

You can only use spray-on oil to

moisten the metal grill of a barbecue, as it has no flavor whatsoever.

It was an honest mistake by the House and I am confident they will rectify it. But it got better.

We ordered a perfect soft, moist

chicken in pear sauce. We passed on their chicken with butter, oranges and ginger, but I will not make that mistake next time.

And now for their crowning glory, desserts. Every one of them was excellent. I simply could not believe that they had not ordered them from a commercial bakery. But no! The waiter assured me they were all made in house. Their apple strudel was as good as anything I have eaten in Vienna, and for RON 10, it was huge.

There was a total of 22 goodies on offer, many of which were on display in their chiller cabinet. So prepare yourself for fig tart with cream, Amarreto and vanilla, or pear and ginger cake, or chocolate cream with a vanilla crust, or several gelatos.

Our experience there was a successful venture. But one last word. Their toilet was a dream: a Japanese, automatic, electric selfcleaning toilet seat. You just have to see it in operation. As a word of advice, just don’t be sitting on it when you press the button!

Go out of your way to get there if you are staying in the neighboring Radisson, or if you are shopping in adjacent Calea Victoriei. It is well worth it.

Michael Barclay Mab.media@dnt.ro

LAURENTIU OBAE

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010

LAURENTIU OBAE

t is a neighborhood restaurant directly opposite the huge Le Bistro in Luterana. I refer to it as a neighborhood restaurant as it is used strictly by locals. After all, Luterana is a short street that leads to nowhere and as it contains no shops or offices you would probably never find yourself in it.

It is brightly painted in a riot of fruity colours, but not in a garish way. So we went there for lunch and settled down for a pleasant experience. The locals started arriving, most of them being drop dead beautiful blondies from the nearby World Class fitness center. As befits fitness people they predictably ordered fresh juices and salads. They then equally predictably all lit up cigarettes – how fit is that!

The sight of these beauties distracted me from the music which was annoying, unnecessary and blasting loud. Things got better when our bread arrived. I recognized it immediately as being supplied to the House by the baker Deli France. It is of the highest quality and is also supplied to most of the top hotels in town.

The House signature is the fresh juices, all priced around RON 14.5. Based upon orange, mango, grapefruit, apple, pear, banana, carrot, plum, pineapple, peach, melon, papaya, cherry, kiwi, grapes and cranberry, they offer an amazing 128 combination of juiced fruit drinks.

So away to the menu. They had a breakfast section operating between 8.00 and 11.00 a.m. offering six different omelettes, cheese dishes and toast, coffee and jam packages.

Having been pleasantly surprised with their bread, we ordered from the sandwich section, which offers small or large butties, a total of 16 choices. I had to smile at one of them, which was a “Caesar”.

Making a sandwich from the ingredients inspired by the world’s most famous salad was an initiative I applaud. So naturally it contained bacon, capers, egg, parsley, Parmesan and lettuce. And just for the local fitness freaks, each sandwich is list-

There’s juice loose about this hoose: fruit drinks are one of the House’s fortes 17

FILM REVIEW / CITY

FILMREVIEW:

The Next Three Days

Perhaps one of the first actors not to wear tights as Robin Hood (in Ridley’s Scott 2010 version of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stories), Russell Crowe may be back on the Oscar-winning track in his most recent film, The Next Three Days.

He stars as John Brennan, a sturdy (yet quite charming), clumsy professor, very happy with his picture-perfect family life: he is in love with his wife, Lara (played by Elizabeth Banks), and a great father to his young son, Luke (Ty Simpkins). All this comes to an end, however, when Lara is charged with murder and her husband tries in vain to get her out through all legal means in the following three years.

The knowledgeable yet shy professor becomes both father and mother to his son, who now refuses to talk to his actual mother. The beautiful and feisty Lara is herself broken down while in prison and seems to lose all hope of ever being released, slowly turning into a desperate and fearful shadow of who she used to be.

The movie’s rather slow initial pace is dramatically overturned with John’s decision to resort to less legal means of getting his wife out of jail, once the more socially-acceptable avenues have, one by one, run out. A man with a plan, John is no longer afraid to heed the most reckless advice, given by an expert escape artist (Academy Award nominee Liam Neeson).

Corina Dumitrescu Director: Paul Haggis Starring: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy On at: Cinema City Controceni, Cinema City Sun Plaza, Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex Cinema Plaza

Don’t cry for Vaya Con Dios, canceled concert is rescheduled The Vaya Con Dios concert at Fratelli Studios in Bucharest, initially scheduled for November 11, will take place on December 23 at the same location. Belgian singer Dani Klein’s health issues, responsible for the cancellation, have been overcome, although she remains under medical observation. Tick18

ets for the November 11 concert can be used for the new concert date or returned for a refund. Refunds on tickets purchased online can be claimed by emailing contact@eventim.ro with details of the account from which the payment was made.

Corina Dumitrescu

COURTESY OF KLEIN BAR

Russell on the run: Crowe pounds the pavement

The quiet and peaceable John Brennan, regarded by his friends and family as perhaps too much of an idealist, turns to the most unexpected means in his plan, against all odds and without anyone knowing.

There are certain moments in the film when his morality is questioned and one could even doubt his sanity or good intentions, but this is all part of the movie’s well sown mounting suspense, which will definitely keep the viewer glued to the screen.

Keep your ears open for the movie’s soundtrack, which might lead to an Oscar nomination for composer Danny Elfman. One of the most touching moments of the film is perfectly marked by the song Mistake, performed by Moby.

Director Paul Haggis, whose CV includes helming 2005 blockbuster Crash and writing the script for Million Dollar Baby, directed by Clint Eastwood, is responsible for the screenplay for The Next Three Days, an adaptation of the French film Pour Elle (Anything for Her), written by Fred Cavye, who collaborated with Haggis on the American version.

An initially predictable Hollywood yarn about love and dedication, The Next Three Days is the kind of movie that surprises. Expect the unexpected about this film, a good, if not excellent cinematic experience, however, well worth spending around two hours in the cinema for.

Klein Café, 100 percent non-smoking location, opens in Bucharest

Smoke gets in your eyes, but not at the nicotinefree Klein Café

Klein Café has recently been inaugurated as a 100 percent non-smoking location in downtown Bucharest, on Smardan Street. The venue starts serving coffee as early as 7am, and provides customers with ‘an office away from the of-

fice’ for a day. For a fee, clients can enjoy “unlimited coffee, waffles, tea, water and Wi-Fi for the entire afternoon,” owner Jerry van Schaik explains.The new location is not so “new”, as, in the words of van Schaik: “The Klein Café has been a part of Rembrandt Hotel ever since its opening. It was just not regarded a separate entity until a few months ago when we decided to open it to the outside public as well.”

Klein Café’s main differentiators – a non-smoking location that serves coffee and breakfast at the earliest hour – are expected to develop a “steady and loyal base of clients”, says van Schaik, and quickly recover the initial investment in “setting up a café menu, hiring personnel and stocking up on beer and wine alongside the usual coffee,” he adds.

Corina Dumitrescu

‘The World According to Ion B.’ wins Emmy The documentary “The World According to Ion B.”, depicting the story of homeless Romanian collage artist Ion Barladeanu, has won an Emmy in the Arts Programming section of the 2010 International Emmy Awards. The Romanian film took the prize during the ceremony held on November 22 in New York City.

The work, directed by Romanian Alexander Nanau and produced by HBO Romania and Alexander Nanau Production, follows the life of 64-yearold collage artist Ion Barladeanu, initially an anonymous homeless man, who later becomes an internationally-acclaimed pop-art celebrity.

Other nominees in the same category were: “All My Life: Cazuza” (TV Globo, Brazil), “Imagine... David Hock-

From rags to riches: collage artist Ion B.

ney: A Bigger Picture” (BBC/ Coluga Pictures, UK) and “Personas Inside Out” (TV Asahi, Japan). The nominations were made public on Monday by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the Mipcom fair in Cannes.

Corina Dumitrescu

Romania celebrates National Day with military parade As is the tradition in post-communist Romania, the country will celebrate its National Day on December 1 with a military parade. The event will take place in the Arcul de Triumf area, at around 11.00, though the spots with the best views fill up earlier.

December 1 marks Marea Unire, or the Great Union, which occurred in 1918, when Transylvania (formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, yet inhabited by a Romanian majority) was united with the Principalities of Romania (Wallachia and Moldavia). The

Union occurred under the rule of King Ferdinand. Before 1990, Romania celebrated its National Day on August 23, when Romania switched sides from the Axis to the Allies and the country took Russia’s side in World War II. December 1 is a public holiday for many Romanians so expect to find many shops or locations closed. Celebrations and ceremonies will take place all across the country, but most importantly in Alba Iulia, where the union was formalized in 1918.

Corina Dumitrescu

BUSINESS REVIEW / November 29 - December 5, 2010