March 29 (SeeNews) - Romanian online retailer eMAG named Tudor Manea new CEO and plans to invest some 3.26 billion lei ($772 million/655 million euro) in the next three years, it said on Monday.
Manea, who previously served as general manager of eMAG, is replacing Iulian Stanciu, who is taking the role of executive president, the company said in a press release.
"The investments we will make in the next three years will help us offer our customers a wider range of products and better prices, speedy delivery, but also a more simple payment process," Manea said.
In the next three years, eMAG plans to invest 785 million lei in regional expansion. In Hungary, where the company merged with Extreme Digital two years ago, the goal is to reach 1 billion euro ($1.17 billion) in sales over the next five years. In Bulgaria, eMAG will continue to expand its physical presence after opening its first showroom in Sofia last year, and will focus on developing and improving its services.
A further 447 million lei will be allocated for the development of Romanian technology which will be exported to all countries where eMAG is present. This year, the company plans to hire an additional 100 people in its technology team, which currently employs 700.
Further on, eMAG Marketplace will benefit from a capital injection of 251 million lei.
The company aims to invest some 990 million lei in its logistics operations over the next three years. eMAG's new logistics hub in Joita, Giurgiu county, will become fully operational in September 2022, and the easybox network will be doubled in the next period to make delivery easier, predictable and fast.
Another 740 million lei will be invested in technology companies through eMAG Ventures, while 45 million lei will be invested in the training of employees.
"We believe that we have many opportunities ahead, along with the development of the digital economy. In this regard, we will greatly accelerate investment in transforming eMAG into a regional technology and trade ecosystem," Iulian Stanciu said.
eMAG was founded in 2001 by Romanian entrepreneurs and later expanded in Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland. South Africa-based Naspers media group acquired a 70% stake in eMAG in 2012.
Earlier this month, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said that it is considering to provide two loans worth up to 36 million euro combined to eMAG for a new logistics centre. A senior loan in the amount of up to 18.5 million euro would be granted to eMAG as part of a syndicated loan of 37 million euro in order to finance the development of the new logistics facility, the EBRD said in a project summary document.
(1 euro= 4.8869 lei)
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