Observation Lab

Afi Palace center, Bucharest

Afi Palace

Perhaps the biggest mall from Romania ..I wonder if it can be seen from space !

Let's take a look inside ..

Shiny windows and fancy lightsAmbiental music.. and people feeling like in the wonderland !

Buy more ! Buy more !Yes, you want it ..Hey ! It's a deal !

Are we just taking a look ? .. or ..

or .. already shopping in our mind ?

- Most stores have big banners with their brand- They have big and wide open doors- It's like inviting you to take a look ..

A store called "Reserved"

We'll be observing itfrom this rest place !

What do they do ? And how ?!

- They sell mostly clothes- The salespersons are 20-30 years old females- They wear branded shirts- Products have big labels with their prices- The customers spend some time inside- They're encouraged to touch and feel- But many of them seem just to browse ..

The surprising fact ..

The cash register is located in the center ..

Is it rule or exception ? I went to check it ..

It looks like almost all appareil stores have the cash register right in the center !I never thought about this until now !

Another store .. "pimkie"

Why this one ? Because it has pink dots !!And that's what captured my attention

Wide open door again ..

Bright lighting, but crowded .. like many othersAn uniformed guard stays at the entry

But between the salespeople seems to be only two girls, without uniform ..

The cash register is located in the center of the store, and it seems to be a rule between this kind of stores ..

Profihair .. it's more like a big light !

Small store but bright and aggressive bannerThe colors are again black, white and red

But this time there isan exception: the cashregister is near theexit door !

A fancy bookstore ..

With the banner written with a small font ..

but a fancygreen logo ..

Inside of the bookstore ..

A surprising number of customers ..Perhaps because it's the only bookstore in there ?

It's quiet .. people look at the books and some of the staff arranges the books ..But none asked me anything in more than 10 minutes ..

And I felt hungry ..

So I went to the food section ..It's 22:00 o'clock but the tables are almost full !

And in fact I also wentto eat there ..

A fast food must be a good business here!

You see that big and bright "real" ?

That's a huge supermarket ! .. open non-stop !

Of course thatI went inside ..to buy something !

Hey .. where are we ?! - It's Romania

This is a central-eastern European country ..Raw capitalism with just 16% fixed income tax !

And some wouldn't even believe it .. It's just 23 years after the fall of the communism !

Opportunities: Sky is the limit !

Background info about the country:

- fixed 16% income tax- VAT rate of 24%- possibility to be non VAT paying up to a limit- member of the European Union- low cost workforce: 200 $ / month min net wage 1000 $ / month net wage for an engineer

The other side ..

Weak economy .. not many local partnersLess qualified workforceRampant corruption and power abuseHigh transport costs for small packages

The opportunities

- Opening a fast food (this was the most crowded place)- Innovation and sales towards the EU market- Supplying the big supermarkets with consumer goods from China- Clone something which already works in the USA