Octavian Creţu reaches 6% of beer market with Albacher

Octavian Creţu, owner of the Romaqua group, has grabbed 6.2% of the beer market in less than three years' time with the Albacher brand, in an industry dominated by multinationals and difficult to tap by newcomers.

Albacher's market share rose from 5.3% in August-September 2009 to 6.2% of household consumption in the similar period of this year, according to information supplied by the company.
The beer market amounts to 1.5 billion litres and around 1 billion euros this year, with household consumption amounting to 70%, i.e. 700 million euros. At this level of the market, Albacher sales could amount to around 40 million euros, according to ZF calculations.
"This year Albacher sales recorded a 10% increase," said Adrian Teslovan, marketing manager of Romaqua Group Borsec.
Albacher, launched in mid-2008, was the businessman's first foray into the beer industry, with Dorfer being recently added to the portfolio as an economy segment brand.
According to Trade Registry data, Romaqua Group SA posted a 532.2 million-RON (126.7 million-euro) turnover in 2009.