December 29 (SeeNews) - The Romanian arm of German manufacturer of chainsaws and handheld power equipment Stihl said on Tuesday it will invest over 5 million euro ($5.4 million) in upgrading its stores next year.
Under a new store concept which will be implemented by the end of 2016, Stihl Romania plans to upgrade a total of 100 stores by increasing their shopping area and improving product display, the company said in a press release.
Of the 100 stores that will be upgraded in 2016, some 40 will be transformed into flagship stores, one in each county of Romania, as this figure will hopefully reach 60 flagship stores in two or three years, the company's general manager Ion Mezei said in the statement.
Stihl Romania was set up in 1997 and imports equipment under the Stihl and Viking brands. In 2015, the company upgraded 16 stores following an 850,000 euro investment and added 30 new dealers to its network. It now has a network of 200 dealers which operate some 300 stores and service areas in Romania.
Stihl Romania posted a profit of 18 million lei ($4.3 million/3.9 million euro) in 2014, down 8.3% from a year earlier, on a turnover of 109 million lei, data posted on finance ministry website show.
At international level, Stihl posted a 2.2 billion euro turnover in the first eight months of 2015, up 10.4% on the year. It plans to invest 1 billion euro in its development until 2018.
(1 euro = 4.5381 Romanian lei)