Black Friday in Romania: What retailers offer discounts this year?
The Black Friday campaign has grown each year in Romania, becoming one of the most expected sales events in the country. At present, a large number of retailers fight to get the largest number of visitors and increase their sales significantly in this period. While some of them already kicked off the campaign, most of them will start offering Black Friday discounts on November 20.
The Black Friday concept was imported in Romania by eMAG and Flanco in 2011 and became bigger each year. It was eMAG and Flanco who also reported the biggest Black Friday sales last year. eMAG sold products worth some EUR 37 million while Flanco’s sales totaled EUR 22 million.
Here’s a list of some of the retailers that have announced their participation in the Black Friday campaign this year.
Electro-IT retailer Altex announced the longest Black Friday discount campaign, of 32 days, between October 30 and November 30. The discounts are available on its website and in its stores. Clients can find cheaper IT products, as well as small and large household appliances, electronics, smartphones, tablets, and many other products.
Online retailer eMAG will hold its Black Friday event on November 20, one week before the official Black Friday in the US. The retailer has decided to stick to its traditional one-day event, despite the fact that many competitors have turned it into a weekend event or a one-week event. It will also come with large discounts for the products on its website such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, photo and video cameras, TVs and other household appliances. The average discount will be some 35% and the total value of the discounts will be around EUR 22.5 million as eMAG expects EUR 46 million sales on this day.
Electro-IT retailer Flanco also cuts the prices between November 20 and November 22. The retailer will have discounts of up to 80% on its online platform and in its stores. It is the fifth year when Flanco organizes Black Friday, and expects sales of more than EUR 29 million this year, up 33% compared to 2014, and 3 million buyers. The clients will be able to buy the products from the retailer’s 95 stores and from its online platform. Moreover, the black Friday starts earlier for Flanco clients with fidelity cards, on November 19 (between 10:00 and 16:00).
Gadget retailer QuickMobile will also organize Black Friday between November 20 and November 22. The buyers will be able to find discounts on the retailer’s online platform, as well as in its stores. The retailer announced that it will offer discounts of up to 80% in this period. The list of products with reduced prices include Apple Watches, the Smart Balance Wheel conveyor, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge phones, Nokia N1 tablets, and luxury accessories from Gucci and Moschino. QuickMobile’s stock for this period has a total value of EUR 5 million.
Romanian IT&C brand Evolio also has special promotions on its website between November 20 and November 22. Its offer includes 3G smartphones and tablets for prices starting at RON 99, smart watches, sport video cameras, GPS devices, and accessories. Moreover, on November 20, a client will get back the money spent on evolioshop.com. The winning customer will be chosen every hour and the promotion is available between 08:00 and 24:00.
Online gadget retailer Gadget World started the Black Friday campaign on November 17. The retailer's campaign is actually called Sun Friday and will end on November 30. Moreover, 3% of the sales registered in this period will be donated to the victims of Colectiv club tragedy.
Photo equipment retailer F64 will also start the discount campaign on November 20. Clients will be able to find products with reduced prices on the retailer’s website, as well as in its store.
Electro-IT retailer Domo recently started a liquidation of stocks, as it plans to close all its stores. There are discounts between 10% and 90% on the retailer’s website. It's not exactly a Black Friday campaign.
Online fashion retailer Fashion Days, which was recently acquired by eMAG, will also have a massive Black Friday campaign. The online store offers discounts of up to 90% for over 600,000 products from more than 1,000 brands. The campaign officially starts on Friday, November 20, at 0:00, but the Fashion Days mobile app users get a four-hour head start. The total discounts Fashion Days plans to offer are EUR 18 million.
Footwear retailer Otter will have discounts of up 50% for 800 products between November 20 and November 22. The products will have cheaper prices on the retailer’s online store, as well as in its 31 stores across the country. Moreover, in this period, Otter clients will benefit from free transport for the orders made online.
Fashion and beauty retailer SOLE Luxury Boutique also announced that it will kick off the Black Friday campaign on November 20. The retailer prepared stocks of some EUR 1 million and discounts of up to 50%. The clients can purchase the products from the retailer’s online store, as well as from its stores in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, and Baia Mare. They can choose from a variety of luxury products, from bags, perfumes, and cosmetics, to fashion accessories and watches. The retailer’s most expensive item, namely a Celine bag which normally costs some EUR 3,000, will also have a cheaper price during the campaign. The transport will also be free in this period.
If you plan to buy new furniture this year, Mobexpert comes with special offers for this year’s Black Friday campaign, between November 20 and December 1. There will be discounts of up to 50% for furniture items and decorations. The retailer’s Mobexpert Discount concept stores in Bucharest will also cut the prices of decorations by up to 70%, and will also have discounts to other products in their portfolio.
Carrefour also announced that it has special offers for this year’s Black Friday campaign. The retailer applies discounts to various products until December 1, such as electronics, IT and telecom products.
Metro will have Black Friday offers in its traditional stores as well as online between November 19 and 22 and Between November 26 and 29.
Many other retailers in Romania will join the Black Friday campaign this year, such as electro retailer Rombiz, online retailer Elefant.ro, online fashion retailer ZorileStore, Dressbox – which rents evening dresses and jewelry, Fashion Days, IT&C retailer Media Galaxy, toy retailer Noriel, footwear retailer Matar.ro, Ama Fashion, online bookshops Libris.ro and Nemira.ro, online retailer Marketonline.ro, travel agency Vola.ro, IT&C retailers Cel.ro and Clickshop.ro, IT retailer CitGrup, and okazii.ro classifieds website.
Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com
