Flexibility helps companies attract and retain talent

On a labour market that is dominated by fierce competition between companies trying to attract and keep talent, employee retention is a serious challenge for HR departments. Regardless of their size or industry, organisations are making significant efforts to identify the elements that make or break an employee’s decision to stay in a company.

By Anda Sebesi & Aurel Constantin

If companies force the return to the old way of working from the office, they might not be able to attract new talent

“In our view, retention starts with the ability to articulate what type of organisational culture we have and with the beliefs and behaviours that make up this culture. If we hire people who resonate with these elements, then both retention and satisfaction among employees will increase,” says Gabriela Neamtu, head of corporate centre & HR at Mol Romania.

The Group has a programme called Calcio 2030, which is intended to align the company’s organisational culture to the strategy it has announced for 2030. “In order to support all the changes, we first need to understand our existing culture and the ways in which we work and interact with our employees,” Neamtu adds.

Since it’s becoming abundantly clear that the future belongs to hybrid work, Luminita Florea, people & culture director at Philip Morris Romania, thinks that the common struggle for both employers and employees is the fact that we still don’t have all the answers about this new way of working. “Some companies conduct tests among their employees to see how they handle the mix between working from home and working from the office. But I think that the best approach is accepting the uncertainty and the fact that we are moving into a certain direction, testing things out, adjusting, and keeping the things that work,” Florea argues.

With that in mind, she says that customising working schedules based on the needs of employees could be a valid solution. “We’ve conducted several surveys among our employees and found out that about 10 percent of them would prefer to go to the office on a permanent basis because they feel more productive there.”

Florea adds that while the work from home option was rarely used by its employees before the pandemic, the outbreak of covid-19 made it crucial for the company to develop managerial skills that were adapted to remote work. “We run a management development programme for managers of remote teams as well as a series of trainings for these teams to help them understand why the paradigm has changed. As a result, online collaboration is currently integrated at all levels.”

Alina Amza, Superbet: Attention has shifted from performance, retention, and productivity towards caring for our people. The HR team has played a crucial role in supporting employees and keeping them connected while working online, allowing them to talk to a specialist when they faced stress or anxiety, and helping them feel safe from a financial perspective. All these initiatives represent a solid foundation for a coherent wellbeing strategy. We went from a reactive approach to a preventative one.

Luminita Florea, Philip Morris România: Some companies conduct tests among their employees to see how they handle the mix between working from home and working from the office. The best approach is accepting the uncertainty and the fact that we are testing things out, adjusting, and keeping the things that work. We’ve conducted surveys among our employees and found out that 10 percent of them would prefer to go to the office on a permanent basis because they feel more productive there.

Cristina Mancas, Schneider Electric: This year we started the Employee Assistance Programme, which gathers colleagues from the South East Europe region to offer support for employees and their family members on different topics like career opportunities or remote management. We also implemented Open Talent Market, a platform where Schneider’s worldwide employees can register as mentors. The project has brought a high level of visibility and transparency regarding open positions at the group level and has eased collaboration on projects.

According to the Philip Morris Romania representative, the company is now focused on imagining how its business and the local labour market will look like in the next three to five years, trying to understand how digitalization will impact the company’s operations, and identifying the skills that should be developed right now in order for current employees or those who will join the company in the near future to be successful in their careers. And this is even more important considering the fact that global studies have shown that on average, people change their job 11 times during a 30-35-year work life. “Advancement could be achieved by either improving existing skills or acquiring new ones,” says Daniela Vercellino, human resources director at Societe Generale Global Solution Centre. The company recently developed a redeployment programme designed to create new career opportunities inside the company. “It was a large project that proved that redeployment is possible when you provide the right tools,” she adds.

HOW COMPANIES FOSTER WELLBEING FOR EMPLOYEES

The pandemic has highlighted the fact that mental and physical health are crucial for an employee’s wellbeing. As a result, companies decided to make wellbeing a top priority for both their HR departments and leaders. “Attention has shifted from performance, retention, and productivity towards caring for our people. The HR team has played a crucial role in supporting employees and keeping them connected while working online, allowing them to talk to a specialist when they faced stress or anxiety, and helping them feel safe from a financial perspective,” says Alina Amza, group wellbeing & inclusion director at Superbet. The company implemented an assistance programme, launched the OPAL project, created an internal newsletter, organised 80 workshops on various topics, and constantly communicated with its employees. “All these initiatives represent a solid foundation for a coherent wellbeing strategy. We went from a reactive approach to a preventative one,” Amza explains.

She adds that a key word related to wellbeing—both in general and in Superbet’s case—is co-creation or collaboration, meaning that everything the company does in this area is developed through collaboration with its employees. “Wellbeing should be multidimensional because it is influenced by many factors. In addition, companies should have a systemic approach, as all the employees and leaders of an organisation have a role in enhancing the impact of wellbeing. Plus, there is a need to customise wellbeing interventions according to the specific needs of a group of employees.” International research has shown that about 25 percent of the European workforce suffers from an undiagnosed emotional disorder such as anxiety or depression, with the coronavirus pandemic having deepened these emotions even more. “We therefore decided to focus on this area, alongside parentingrelated and online fitness workshops. Our HR department played by far the most important role, as it led our management to switching focus from delivery and productivity to employees’ physical and mental wellbeing,” Vercellino adds.

Elsewhere, Neamtu of Mol Romania says that the company has tried to provide as much relevant information as possible to its employees, using a wide range of internal communication tools: newsletters on various topics (including legal topics with an impact on the company’s activity), letters from management, periodic online meetings to present the activity of each department, a Yammer channel, internal surveys to collect feedback about flexi-work and working from home. “We always disseminated the results of these feedback exercises, as we believe it is important for us to be transparent,” Neamtu states.

As for Schneider Electric, Cristina Mancas, SEE HR vice-president, says that the company had a dedicated committee even before the pandemic, which would come up with different wellbeing initiatives for employees. Since the pandemic began, the company has organised many online workshops with a high engagement rate, townhalls, and faceto-face teambuilding sessions with a limited number of participants. “This July, we also started the Employee Assistance Programme, which gathers colleagues from the South East Europe region to offer support for employees and their family members on different topics like career opportunities or remote management.” Last but not least, the company has implemented Open Talent Market, a platform where Schneider’s worldwide employees can register as mentors. “The project has brought a high level of visibility and transparency regarding open positions at the group level and has eased collaboration on projects.”

FLEXIBILITY AS A CORE VALUE

According to Pluria Romania co-founder Andrei Cretu, it is clear that companies should provide flexibility to their employees, as the new way of working is no longer linked to the office and organisations have access to talents worldwide. “The problem is how we organise hybrid work. We are now overwhelmed by messages about the new way of working, but it is obvious that everything is moving towards higher levels of employee autonomy.” Cretu adds that the company he co-founded has operations in Romania, Spain, and Columbia, and that its platform is specialised in managing hybrid work. “Using an app, employees can book a meeting room or an office at their company’s office building or at one of our co-working spaces.” He also points out that society is now at a tipping point, and if companies resist the change and force the return to the old way of working from the office, they might not be able to attract new talent or even lose the people they have. “Some studies show that 70-80 percent of employees value flexibility when they choose to work for a company. Employees need trust and autonomy. Only companies that offer these benefits can become sustainable in terms of their workforce,” Cretu concludes. OPINION • Irina Tache, SAP The pandemic has made the world aware that you can adapt very quickly to the unpredictable. In order to embrace resilience, companies need employees who are as motivated and supportive as possible. The Future of Work concept is based on innovative technology. Two years ago, SAP started a transition from Human Capital Management to Human Experience Management, a cultural shift towards recognising employees’ entire experience in any kind of organisation. Technologies such as machine learning, AI, chatbots, and others help companies gain a much better understanding of their employees. The user experience part focuses on how people consume technology, while AI shows how repetitive tasks can be automated so that employees are free to focus on the creative side. But AI cannot infer the existence of information that the system is not aware of, it cannot answer questions that have not been previously conceptualised. Therefore, organisations must focus on employees, not just on automating tasks, and on skills that cannot be replicated by neither Machine Learning nor AI. But employees also need to share more of what they feel, do, and want, to make it easier for the company to understand. A fundamental concept says that people's satisfaction depends less on their position in the company and more on what they actually do inside that organisation. The Success Factors Opportunity Marketplace solution is built on this concept, gathering all HR data to connect people with opportunities. Employees are looking for the best job and the best salary; organisations are facing a battle for talent, especially in a time of skill shortages. Therefore, companies that ensure internal mobility, where employees can easily evolve, are the ones that will win this fight. There are organisations that have already implemented this solution and have managed to bring it to an advanced level, but many are still just beginning. Last year, SAP announced that it would accelerate investment in cloud solutions and help companies move to cloud setups so that they could be as resilient as possible in the future, as change is now the only constant. Gartner predicts that 80 percent of companies will stop using on-premise solutions by 2025. For SAP, user experience, analytics, and timetracking are major areas of investments, as these are elements that improve the relationship between employers and employees. Daniela Vercellino, Societe Generale Global Solution Centre: International research has shown that about 25 percent of the European workforce suffers from an undiagnosed emotional disorder such as anxiety or depression, with the coronavirus pandemic having deepened these emotions even more. We therefore decided to focus on this area, alongside parenting-related and online workshops. Our HR department played by far the most important role, as it led our management to switching focus from delivery and productivity to employees’ physical and mental wellbeing.

Gabriela Neamtu, MOL Romania: Retention starts with the ability to articulate what type of organisational culture we have and with the behaviours that make up this culture. If we hire people who resonate with these elements, then retention and satisfaction among employees will increase. The Group has a programme which is intended to align the company’s organisational culture to the strategy it has announced for 2030. In order to support all the changes, we need to understand our existing culture.

Andrei Cretu, Pluria: It is clear that companies should provide flexibility to their employees, as the new way of working is no longer linked to the office and organisations have access to talents worldwide. We are now overwhelmed by messages about the new way of working, but it is obvious that everything is moving towards higher levels of employee autonomy. Employees need trust and autonomy. Only companies that offer these benefits can become sustainable in terms of their workforce.

Several Romanian brands have managed to promote themselves internationally in key places in major world capitals Despite all the negative news related to the covid-19 pandemic and the fact that authorities haven’t always handled the issue in the most appropriate way, 2021 has meant more for Romania, and especially for its business environment, which has been promoting the local market on the international scene, albeit with baby steps.

By Claudiu Vrinceanu

ROMANIA'S PROMOTION TO "EMERGING MARKET" STATUS

The promotion of Romania's capital market to "emerging market" status last year was equivalent to achieving EU membership. This year also saw the first concrete results of this upgrade, which have improved the image of Romanian companies globally.

In just one year, Romania's representation in the FTSE Russell indices has increased from three to seven companies, from a highly diverse range of sectors, from energy and financials to IT.

The first step was taken in September, when OMV Petrom and TeraPlast shares were included in the FTSE Emerging Markets Indices, joining Banca Transilvania (TLikV) and Nuclearelectrica (SNN). The global index provider’s decision to include the two companies validated the potential of the Romanian equity market and its dynamism.

The shares of two other Romanian companies are also going to be included in the FTSE Emerging Markets Indices from December 20: One United Properties, a Romanian real estate company, and Transport Trade Services (TTS), one of the largest freight forwarders in the Danube basin.

The FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Indices are part of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), which includes over 16,000 large, mid, small, and micro market capitalisation companies in 49 developed and emerging global markets.

UIPATH IPO ON NYSE

After a successful Series F funding that raised USD 750 million in February 2021, Romanianborn company UiPath went public in April 2021. Its evaluation on the first day of trading on the NYSE was over USD 38 million. Analysts expect UiPath to generate USD 870 million in fiscal year 2022 and USD 1.2 billion in 2023. For the first time, a team of Romanians were on Wall Street as stars on the stage of world capitalism. For a whole week, major business publications were talking about Romania, with the country's name positively mentioned across news, interviews, and analyses.

OUTDOOR PROMOTION

Thanks to communication agencies and digital platforms, several Romanian brands have managed to promote themselves internationally in key places in major world capitals. One example is TPS Engage, a Romanian startup that allows clients to digitally set their advertising content on screens around the world, including in Times Square.

The first company to do so was one of Romania's largest water producers, Aqua Carpatica, which two years ago displayed the Romanian flag all day on monitors in downtown New York. Bitdefender also promoted itself this year in Times Square, in the context of the 20th anniversary of its launch.

IT KEPT THE COUNTRY BRAND ON ITS FEET

Romania moved up a position in the 100 most valuable country brands ranking, to reach 48th place. Romania's brand value has increased by 11 percent in the last year, to USD 178 billion, according to the Nation Brands 2021 report by British consultancy Brand Finance. The rate of growth exceeds the average 7 percent advance recorded globally.

The 11 percent increase is good news, but national brand value is still far from the prepandemic level of USD 216 billion, recorded in the 2019 Brand Finance Nation Brands ranking. Romania scored well initially, and the economy has recovered quickly. Still, recent failures in managing the chaos generated by the pandemic and the vaccination campaign, compounded by a government crisis, will require strong political will to keep things on track. According to this year's report, the Romanian economy has held up “relatively well” during the pandemic, avoiding a severe recession. The pandemic has also increased reliance on digital infrastructure, leading to robust growth for the local IT sector.

Dan Fiterman, General Director, Arcadia - Hospitals and Medical Centers

Arcadia - Hospitals and Medical Centers, the largest medical network in Northeast Romania, will launch early next year the Arcadia Medical Recovery Hospital, an innovative concept for the medical recovery of Romanian patients, and beyond. The medical services provided by the hospital will target various medical specialties such as neurology, cardiology, orthopedics, neurosurgery (pre and post interventional), as well as pneumology.

Located on a field of approximately 20,000 square meters, and structured on 5 levels with an area of over 6,000 square meters, the hospital building is based on an unique circuit for optimal medical recovery. Given that, its services will be dedicated to patients with post-traumatic, musculoskeletal, rheumatic, cardiovascular, neurological or respiratory disorders who need medical recovery to regain mobility and the ability to move independently.

INVESTMENT IN STATE-OF-ART TECHNOLOGY

At the core of the Arcadia – Hospitals and Medical Centers mission are the continuous investments to develop projects lead by empathy, passion, and innovation. By the same token, with an initial investment of over 10 million euros, Arcadia Medical Recovery Hospital is an integrated concept that provides a state-of-art treatment base which is unique in Europe. The open-space of approximately 1,500 square meters will include top equipment, innovative technologies and ultra-modern robotics. As such, the hospital is designed with an emphasis on seven main areas: robotic recovery, evaluation and functional recovery, isokinesis, physiotherapy, virtual reality, physical therapy and occupational therapy. In addition to personalized treatment procedures, the hospital introduces a new concept of nutrition and proposes new behavioral patterns for a complex recovery of patients.

“We know that patients choose Arcadia - Hospitals and Medical Centers because they understand that they have access to a new type of health system, one that puts their needs first. This means a complex development program based on a strategy that we design following a careful analysis of the health services market, innovations in this field, and the signals we receive from professionals and patients. This hospital, a first for Romania, will offer an important solution for patients who need medical recovery in order to reintegrate into society, and for a better quality of life” – Dan Fiterman, General Director Arcadia – Hospitals and Medical Centers.

AN INTEGRATED EXPERIENCE FOR PATIENTS

Arcadia Medical Recovery Hospital incorporates also an unique element of reintegration after the recovery process within a replica-house of the patient's home located in the middle of nature and inside the hospital. This important step allows patients to experiment and understand the type of lifestyle they will have after the hospital

discharge in order to maintain the effects of recovery, involving also the family in the process of returning to a normal life.

The whole concept, developed over a period of 5 years, is an important answer for patients who need medical recovery at the highest standards. Arcadia Medical Recovery Hospital, a benchmark in the field, will be inaugurated in the first part of 2022, and is an important part of the Arcadia Medical Network.

The elimination of tax breaks for IT employees, the growing shortage of programmers, and the lack of support for internationalisation ventures are the three most pressing challenges for the Romanian IT industry, which generates over 6 percent of GDP.

By Claudiu Vrinceanu

There is a lot of talk in the public arena today about eliminating the income tax exemption for employees in the IT, construction, and research sectors. According to the Finance Ministry, this measure would bring an additional EUR 600 million to the state budget each year. From the data and information available so far, 2022 may be the last year for these tax breaks.

However, the tax exemption for IT employees is the foundation of financial stability and predictability that has allowed the sector to grow remarkably over the last 20 years, according to the Employers' Association of the Software and Services Industry (ANIS). The organisation points out that fiscal stability and predictability are essential to maintaining the robust pace of growth and boost the positive impact that this sector has had in recent years on GDP growth. Last year, about 103,000 IT employees benefitted from the tax facility.

SHORTAGE OF PROGRAMMERS

Although Romania is the envy of other countries in the region in terms of IT&C specialists, our country still faces a shortage of more than 15,400 programmers, according to a study by programming school Codecool. For several years now, the local IT sector has been dealing with two major challenges: the existing shortage of IT specialists on the market and a low number of new specialists being trained by Romanian schools. The rector of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest estimates that the country will have a shortage of several hundred thousand engineers over the next ten years. Many local IT companies believe that the industry does not necessarily need tax breaks

LACK OF SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONALISATION

Many local IT companies believe that the industry does not necessarily need tax breaks, but that internationalisation is essential. The Romanian market alone cannot absorb the capacity and financial pressures they all face. Firms need expansion on the global market and more concerted support from the state through an internationalisation strategy for Romanian IT.

Romanian tech startups also say they don't need grants from the state. Still, a governmental partner should offer them support when they want to expand to international markets, in a similar fashion to what happens in Israel, where companies form strong relationships with chambers of commerce or embassies.

But in Romania, things related to export promotion policy have been stuck for many years, while other European countries are boosting the role of economic diplomacy, with authorities coming up with various programmes and support measures for IT companies that want to expand internationally. There is also a pressing need for a new national export strategy that is adapted to the current economic context (post-covid-19/new normal) and maps out export opportunities for each county and industry. In addition, IT is the only field that can make Romania internationally competitive, so creating an internationalisation programme for the industry – to include startups and scaleups – would be a good idea. The programme could focus on financial grants and international matchmaking actions for Romanian entrepreneurs.

In Romania’s history, 2006 is remembered as the year when the mandatory military service was abolished and the big anticorruption offensive began. It’s also the year when Canadian-born Michael Topolinski first came to the country. The thriving economy, mesmerizing consumers with the promise of a better life, made the young investor realize the long-term potential of Romanian Real Estate, which outweighed the risks and challenges one can expect in an emerging market.

He could hardly have anticipated the global meltdown of 2008, which wiped out more than half of his investments.

“That was the year when my children – now 29-year-old Michael IV, Tyler (27) and Ashton (25) – first joined me in Romania, so it was tough for both business and personal reasons. The crisis was a major hit to our financial projections,” Michael recalls. “In the end, our portfolio was reduced from 800 to 300 apartments and I was not able to cover all necessary investment, including bank loans. I never thought about giving up on Romania, though. Failure is the first vital lesson one learns in business. Perseverance is the second one.” Fast forward 15 years and the Topolinksi family now runs a successful business in Romanian real estate. Their company InteRo Group has assets exceeding EUR 120 million and a strong balance sheet, with only EUR 7 million in debt. Landmark deals include the 2012 purchase of 78,000 sqm on Progresului for EUR 21 million, where Vulcan Value Center stands today, and the largest transaction of 2019, when they sold half of Dacia Textile platform to Skanska Property Romania for EUR 23 million. Here, the two companies are developing an integrated EUR 300-million project, at 43 Bucurestii Noi, a 197,000 sqm environmentally-friendly, state-of-the-art technology IT campus.

“Our shared vision with Skanska is representative of our family business standards and ethics,” Michael states. “We make a purpose of working only with highly ethical and fair companies like Skanska, Lidl, Kaufland, Libra Bank, global investment funds from North America, Asia and nearby countries. I strongly believe this principle is the only winning ticket for sustainable businesses and healthy economies.”

Admittedly, it’s not always easy in a country that is still a battleground for business ethics and fair play.

“Romania has a systemic problem with corruption,” Michael notes, recollecting the times he faced such situations himself. “It’s ironic that I came here in the very year that the first big corruption cases were investigated. 15 years later, Romania has come a long way but we still see some corrupt politicians, state institutions, paid media, and even ‘old guard’ business people thriving. As a foreign investor openly opposing ‘the corrupt system’, I have personally been attacked several times. I refused to be intimidated and never traded my values for a business opportunity.”

Michael recalls a very difficult episode for his family after their newest company, Naguma Medical Supply, won a Ministry of Health tender for medical masks, in the beginning of the COVID pandemic.

“We fairly won the contract based on the lowest price, thus helping the state save EUR 25 million from the initial budget. This win at such a low price upset the ‘corrupt system’ and triggered a chain of unfounded public attacks and libelous accusations against me. Eventually, the court ruled in our favor. Delivering nationwide 103 million medical masks was a huge logistical endeavor in a country with major infrastructure gaps but we kept a tight schedule, and worked 24/7 to take the much-needed masks to Romanians in 41 counties. Months later, the media were calling us investigating why masks were still being kept in storages, because local authorities had not been able to distribute them. And all this time, unfounded public attacks against my family - the private investor that had actually completed 100% of its contractual obligations in good faith - continued.”

Did he lose faith?

“Definitely not. There is much more to Romania than this. My children and I work with and meet great Romanians every day, and we are deeply committed to this country and its bright future.”

Despite the enormous difficulties faced by the Romanian healthcare sector, the local medtech ecosystem has experienced sharp growth over the past two years. 2021 has been a year when healthcare has continued to accelerate its move into the digital space. The covid-19 pandemic was not the start of this revolution, but it most certainly was a major enabler.

By Claudiu Vrinceanu

KEY INSIGHTS

The covid-19 pandemic pushed patients to look for new ways to access medical services without stepping foot into a doctor's office, which led to an unprecedented growth of the medtech industry, and especially the telemedicine segment. This growth continued in 2021 as access to medical services broadened, combining telemedicine and traditional doctor visits. In addition, companies providing telemedicine platforms and services have started to specialise in improving the quality of medical services.

In the last two years, in Romania, entrepreneurs and investors have developed a number of medical technology startups that are already integrated into the traditional medical services ecosystem. The adoption and acceptance of technology by physicians can generate added value in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating diseases. The legislative updates of the past year have also influenced the development of such startups. Regulatory changes had been necessary for a long time and became urgent in the context of the pandemic, according to Sanopass. Some good news regarding the country’s legal framework came last year, through Emergency Ordinance no. 196/2020, which amended Law no. 95/2006 on healthcare reform. The update made it possible for medical care to be provided through telemedicine services by both public and private health units, regardless of whether they were in a contractual relationship with a health insurance company.

PLAYERS

FreshBlood is a non-governmental organisation that supports health innovation by connecting innovators to resources they might need and by providing feedback and mentoring. The NGO collaborates with engineers, doctors, and anyone willing to help change our world for the better.

Seven of the most active and experienced Romanian medtech startups are Medicai, Xvision, Oncochain, SanoPass, Medicchat, Recomedica, and Synaptiq.

Medicai offers an online, cloud-based platform that connects hospitals, clinics, doctors, and patients in a virtual frictionless network for chronic cases or rare conditions. It has raised its second bridge round from ROCA X, which is part of Impetum Group. Through the Medicai platform, patients can seamlessly store their medical imaging archive and share it with doctors, clinics, and hospitals.

Synaptiq, a Romanian startup from ClujNapoca that improves the performance of healthcare services by developing AI-based solutions for delineating tumours and organs at risk, closed a EUR 250,000 funding round with the participation of investment fund GapMinder VC (through business accelerator Techcelerator), Cleverage VC, and angel investors Daniel and Ioan Istrate. The startup is working on the development of Mediq platform, which reduces the evaluation time of medical imaging in radiotherapy-based cancer treatment procedures.

INVESTORS

Healthtech has been getting attention worldwide in the context of covid-19, and there are plenty of investors and entrepreneurs who are active in the medtech sector across Europe, including Romania. For example, European healthtech startups have attracted funding totalling more than EUR 1 billion in the last year. In Romania, the investment landscape is still in its early stages, with Cleverage VC being one of the country’s most active funds in this industry, with nine investments made so far.

Coffee machines have been very popular throughout the pandemic. How have your products in this segment performed in terms of sales?

These past two years have indeed been very good for the coffee machine segment, and especially for the espresso machines that we sell. During the pandemic, people wanted to replicate some of their habits at home, and drinking good coffee or sophisticated coffeebased beverages was one of those habits. Since they could no longer go out, they made sure they had the means to become baristas at home. We saw sales of espresso machines go up quickly, hitting record highs month after month. We also noticed an overall upsale trend, with many customers deciding not only to buy an espresso machine, but to buy the best espresso machine they could afford. Our high-end segment recorded the most significant growth in both 2020 and 2021. By getting espresso machines for their homes, people in major cities in the country are gradually moving away from Turkish or drip coffee and starting to appreciate the aroma of the espresso and its contribution to a variety of coffee-based beverages – from cappuccinos and flat whites to lattes. We have products which are able to cover all taste preferences and requirements, with our high-end fully automatic machines such as Maestosa, PrimaDonna Elite or PrimaDonna Soul storing dozens of recipes and being controlled remotely thorugh an app.

What types of coffee machines have Romanians been looking for lately?

Over the past two years, consumers have gradually moved away from price being the only major criterion. We continue to sell our entry level manual products, but that is more based on the fact that some people like to be in direct control of their espresso preparation. However, the highest growth was recorded in the full auto segment, with most consumers treasuring the comfort and convenience of a great morning or afternoon coffee they can make at the touch of a button.

You carried out a major campaign this fall, featuring Brad Pitt. How has it influenced your company’s performance?

The campaign started in September, so we would need to look at the year-end figures to assess its overall impact, but so far all the awareness-related KPIs are excellent and the sales of full auto coffee machines have seen a solid growth, De'Longhi having outperformed the market by more than 51 percent in value this fall. This has been the first global camRoxana Dumitru, Coffee Marketing Manager for Romania & Hungary at De'Longhi, sat down with Business Review and highlighted the latest trends among Romania’s coffee consumers and explained how the coffee machine segment has evolved during the pandemic.

By Anda Sebesi

paign featuring a brand ambassador and it has placed the brand under the spotlight like never before.

De'Longhi has a coffee machine production facility in Romania—which models are manufactured there and how many of them are sold on the Romanian market?

We manufacture several full auto products in Romania, including the Magnifica range, which is among our best selling machines both in Europe and locally. To us it is a great source of pride to see that our customers are praising Romania-made products for their quality and reliability, proving that we are indeed capable of manufacturing excellence in this country. About 98 percent of the machines produced in Romania are sold abroad, with the remainder of 2 percent sold here on the local market. We have to bear in mind that our Jucu production facility is not only one of the best, but also one of the largest units of the De'Longhi Group.

What are Romanians’ main coffee preferences?

The step from the kettle to the drip coffee machine was the most important development, and the one that took the longest. Now, under the influence of coffee shops and the new urban coffee culture, younger generations are quickly moving from Turkish and instant coffee to espresso and espresso-based beverages. Cappuccinos and lattes rank high among Romanians’ preferences, after the espresso or the ristretto.