COS Romania posts record turnover of EUR 38 million in 2018, accounts for over 30 pct of Steelcase furniture sales in CEE

COS, the largest furniture and office solutions supplier in Romania, reported a turnover of 38 million euros in 2018, the highest in the company’s history.

COS has been awarded as a Platinum Partner for Steelcase, the global leader of the office furniture industry. This distinction was implemented in 2015 and it is awarded yearly based on strict criteria related to dealers’ sales performance, financial stability and the rating received from clients in the previous year. Only 10 of the Steelcase partners in Europe, including COS in Romania, received this award in a row.

“This acknowledgment and the fact that we managed to put Romania on the Steelcase map at a very high level are very important to us. Steelcase is the global leader on the office furniture market and it is quite difficult to be granted and then to maintain this distinction. I could add that the Steelcase dealership is something you have to deserve, and we have been doing this for 22 years. The office furniture market in Romania is estimated at approximately 60-65 million euros, out of which COS, through the Steelcase brand, made last year over 12 million euros sales, which offer us a very strong position in a highly fragmented market. For this year the common objectives aim at a 10 percent increase in sales. We base our estimation on the new innovative products that we will soon announce,” said Christophe Weller, co-founder and CEO of COS Romania.

“With this distinction we recognise the endeavour of the dealers who made the extra mile in the partnership with us. First of all, we analyse the financial results, where we have ambitious expectations. For the CEE countries we aim to reach accumulated sales of more than EUR 35 million and we are referring to Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Russia,” said Mickael Locoh, Steelcase Sales Director North, Central, Eastern Europe, Africa & Central Asia.

The office buildings market increases every year by the delivery of a large number of A class buildings – for this year a number of 400,000 square meters are estimated to be delivered, with some companies relocating to new buildings, new international players entering the Romanian market, as well as through increased activity in the SMEs sector.

“The emphasis on technology, open spaces, modularity, flexibility and moving the exterior into the interior are the main trends in office spaces and are based on extensive studies of habits and needs at work,” explains Christophe Weller. “But the costs differ when providing amenities for a working space of 10 sqm for two persons, the investment amounts to EUR 700 – 1,000 in total, while in a similar space one can provide amenities for a manager’s office for EUR 1,000 – 1,300,” he adds.

In Romania COS is a pioneer in the office design market who developed internal teams of designers and installation engineers and which is capable to offer integrated solutions, from design to execution, for all needs related to office spaces, including architecturally equipped interiors and installations, such as heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.

COS’s client portfolio in Romania includes companies such as Renault, Michelin, Telus International, Adobe Systems, Accenture, UiPath, FibBit, Johnson&Johnson, Schlumberger, BRD, Schneider Electric, OLX, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Groupama, and in the western part of Romania – EON, Hella Electronics, Yonder, Siemens, Lohika, Magneti Marelli or Plexus.