Romanian retail chain Profi develops private label

Supermarket and proximity store chain Profi, controlled by investment fund Mid Europa Partners, will launch a private label for consumer goods in the medium price segment. Thus, starting July, some 600 to 700 products under the brand Profi will be available in Profi supermarkets and proximity stores, Ziarul Financiar reported.

The retailer also has a private brand for the low-cost segment, Proxi, but has found that Romanians buy more expensive brands, according to the company’s officials. The new brand is being developed by the Portuguese subsidiary of the US merchandising company Daymon.

Diamond has developed Profi’s private label, starting from the market studies and focus groups, to design, packaging and further to production. More precisely, it will negotiate with the suppliers, so Profi will receive the products directly, explained Daniel Cîrstea, the Romanian executive who runs Profi’s operations.

The company already has some private labels on the medium price segment, brands for which it cooperated with several local producers. However, it was hard to control production and maintaining quality, explained Cîrstea, which is why the retailer has signed a partnership with a specialized firm.

Profi recently announced the opening of its 1,000th store in Romania and has by far the widest footprint of all local retailers.

(Photo source: Profi)