As the global population continues to grow, so too does demand for housing, and along with it the appetite for beds, sofas, and other staple household furniture. As the rising popularity of companies such as IKEA so emphatically demonstrates, many of these items are increasingly seen as status symbols by the swelling ranks of the aspirational middle classes around the world.
Aramis Invest, situated in the northwestern municipality of Baia Mare in Romania, can claim to be both an architect and beneficiary of this success. Founded and still run by local entrepreneurs Vladimir Iacob and Marius Şelescu, the company employs a 6,000-strong workforce and last year posted revenues of $324 million (a 37.5% increase over 2020) and profits of $2 million. With a significant portion of the six million mattresses and upholstered furniture items the company manufactures each year destined for IKEA’s superstores, Aramis Invest’s fortunes are clearly closely linked to those of the Swedish retail giant.
The supply chain issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the fallout from the war in Ukraine and persistently high inflation have put many relationships between suppliers and retailers under strain, but Aramis Invest’s willingness to face these challenges head on has kept its strong relationship with IKEA on track.
“Of course, our sector has not been spared from raw material shortages, and it has been impossible to offset the subsequent price hikes in their entirety,” says Iacob. “We are, however, fortunate to have a strong, understanding, and supportive partner. Like most other businesses, we have been successively affected by rises in the cost of raw materials, the increase in energy prices and now interest rates,” he adds. “There are no textbooks that teach you how to deal with periods of economic crisis, but for our part our approach over the past has been to keep a strict hold on non-essential costs.”
In response to these supply-chain problems, Aramis Invest has also moved away from its traditional single-source raw material procurement strategy. Its internal structures remain the same, however. Its complex at Baia Mare houses what is in effect an integrated chain of companies involved in furniture design, the processing of raw materials, storage, and logistics as well as production and, of course, quality control. This modus operandi has remained unshaken by either the pandemic or the economic upheavals that have followed.
The two founders and co-owners of Aramis Invest also determined to continue with several key investment programs. “P
